


In Our Hearts, Love Keeps Sweet-Talking To Despair

by doctorkilljoy



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: 69 (Sex Position), Anal Sex, Angst, Blow Jobs, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Fix-It, Ghosts, Hurt Klaus Hargreeves, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Not Beta Read, POV Steve Rogers, POV Third Person, Past Drug Use, Post Umbrella Academy Season One, Recovery, Temporary Character Death, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-10-19 08:35:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 35,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20654285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctorkilljoy/pseuds/doctorkilljoy
Summary: After the Decimation, Steve is serving his penance by running a support group. He spends his days helping people recover and move on from their loss. Something he hasn’t managed to do himself. Until one day, he hears about a man. A man who can bring back the dead. Thinking it’s a hoax, Steve goes to put the fear of God into Klaus Hargreeves.What he finds is a man trapped in the wrong world, surrounded by the dead, and only interested in his next high. When Klaus is beaten by a client, Steve takes him to the Avengers compound. There it’s revealed that not only does Klaus have a history with one Natasha Romanoff, there’s someone haunting the compound. More specifically, someone haunting Steve both figuratively and literally.As Steve and Klaus grow closer, there’s only one thing that could drive them apart. The ghost of Bucky Barnes.





	1. I Hid The Keys To Unlock Love's Heart

**Author's Note:**

> So this was supposed to be my Captain America Big Bang. However, due to circumstances, I ended up dropping out. But since the fic was already finished, I figured why not share? This fic is completed so it's going to be on a semi-regular posting schedule. I will do what I can to post at least one chapter a week. I would like to get this wrapped up before Halloween since I am doing NaNo this year. Also, Halloween is very much a Klaus holiday. Which I think is fitting. 
> 
> I should mention I have not dumped We Are Cancelling The Apocalypse. However, since I didn't have as much of that in the can as I should have before I started posting it, that means updates are going to be erratic. Don't worry, I do have the end plotted out now so it _will_ be finished. Hopefully before the next season of Umbrella Academy comes out. 
> 
> As always this fic is not beta-read so any mistakes are my own. Title for the fic and the chapters come from my favorite song of all time, _Sleepwalking Past Hope_ by HIM.

It was late afternoon on Wednesday when they trudged in. The rain had stopped, but there was still a heavy mist that hung over the city. Steve would have thought it was the weather that had everyone so down. If circumstances were different. He’d be grateful if that were the case. 

There were only four that day. It didn't surprise him, his midweek groups were never successful. Besides, who wanted to join a support group run by one of the guys who’d managed to get half the world’s population killed? That there weren’t cranks turning up and threatening to kill him was a miracle, or at least Steve thought so.

There was Audra, the white middle-aged brunette school teacher. Jules, the pale punk with the blue hair. Jason, the Hispanic guy who always wore a bow tie. Something about them being cool, Steve was pretty sure it was a pop culture reference. And Pete, the black man who wore baggy clothes and spoke like a Harvard professor. 

He checked his watch, realized they were ten minutes past the start time, and cleared his throat. “It’s safe to say this is everyone. Shall we get started?” Steve asked. There were nods and murmurs, but no one went first. Steve squared his shoulders and started talking. 

“It’s been four years since the… Decimation,” he started. He’d almost said ‘since the Snap’. That was what he called it, not the world. “And this morning I woke up for the first time like everything was normal.” 

“No flashbacks?” Audra asked, and Steve shook his head.

“Nope. No nightmares, either,” Steve said.

“If only that were me,” Pete muttered. 

“How did it feel?” Jason asked. 

Steve was quiet, formulating his thoughts. He then said, “The truth? It felt great at first. Then I thought about Bucky and… It didn’t feel so good anymore.” He smiled. “But that’s what this is about. Moving on.” 

Jules sighed wistfully but didn’t comment. They were chewing on their thumbnail, looking out the window. Steve didn’t pressure them to talk; sometimes they did, sometimes they didn’t. It looked like this would be another meeting where they didn’t. 

Steve looked at Audra and asked, “Have you made any progress?” 

She nodded. “Yes. I talked to Principal Daniels yesterday.” 

“What did he say?” 

Audra smiled. “You’re now looking at the new head of faculty relations.” 

“Wonderful news,” Pete said, grinning at Audra, who smiled back. 

“Congratulations,” said Jason, and Jules clapped a bit. 

“Thank you. I mean, I’ve been doing the work for so long now… I didn’t want to ask at first because we’d lost so many staff. But now I think is the best time to step up. I’ve proved I can handle it and I’ve been doing the work of three people. I feel that deserves recognition,” Audra concluded.

“Of course. You’re invaluable at that institution,” Pete agreed, and Audra beamed at him. 

Steve wanted to tell Pete to ask Audra out already, but he didn’t want to pressure them. It could be purely a platonic thing. Or not, he didn’t know. And as much as he tried to get to know the people in these groups, he didn’t always know what was going on in their heads. 

Sometimes Steve wondered how the hell Sam had managed this. It had been because of Sam that Steve had started the groups. Every day, he would sit for hours and listen to people talk or talk to them about moving on. He’d gotten licensed as a counselor and everything, all so he could help. To try to clean up some of the mess he and the others had made. 

One by one, Audra, Jason, and Pete talked. The entire time, Jules was distracted and fidgeting. Towards the end of the meeting, their phone buzzed, making them jump. Steve frowned. 

“Hey, no cell rule,” Steve said.

“It’s important,” they snapped, taking their phone out of their pocket. They looked at the screen and smiled, saying, “I’ve got it.”

“Got what?” Jason asked, peering over their shoulder.

“I got an appointment with him!” They said, excited.

“Whom?” Audra and Pete asked in unison.

Jules was grinning as they said, “Okay I didn’t want to tell you guys, because I wasn’t sure. But I found someone who can talk to Devon.” 

Everyone froze, and it was so still you could have heard a pin drop. Pete and Audra exchanged glances, and Jason sighed. 

“It’s a scam,” Jason said. 

“No, it’s not! He’s legit! I’ve seen him! He totally summoned my friend’s mom!” Jules insisted. 

Steve wanted to groan, but kept himself in check for Jules’ sake. It was something that had happened immediately after the Snap. Fake psychics coming out of the woodwork claiming they could talk with your loved ones, for a fee of course. It had died off after a couple months (and several arrests) but every now and again they would crop up again. 

He got up and moved so he was sitting next to Jules. He offered his hand to them, and they took it. “Listen to me, Jules,” he said. “I know that you want this guy to be legitimate. I know how much you miss Devon, I do. Because I miss Bucky just as much. But Devon is dead. Just like Bucky is dead.”

“And Grace,” said Jason.

“And my Vienna,” Pete added. 

“So’s Eugenie,” Audra concluded. 

“But… He’s real,” Jules said. Tears welled in their eyes, and Steve pulled them into a hug. 

“You’ve got to move on,” Steve told them. “Do you think Devon would want you to live in the past for the rest of your life?” 

“Probably,” Jules muttered against his shoulder, feeling the tears soak into his shirt. He rubbed their back and held them until they stopped crying. The others were crying too, and Steve got up.

“C’mon, group hug. We haven’t had one in a while,” he said. 

They crowded together and hugged. Everyone murmuring words of encouragement. They were generally offering to be there for each other. When they finally separated, Jules was rubbing their face with the back of their hand. 

“I’m sorry,” they said. “I don’t know what got into me.”

“It’s all right,” he assured them. He then asked, “Where’s this guy live?” 

“Oh dear,” Pete muttered.

“You’re not gonna… Hurt him, are you?” Jules asked.

“I just want to talk to him,” Steve assured them. “See if I can make him understand why what he’s doing is so hurtful to others.” 

Jules checked their phone and said, “I’ll text it.” 

“Thank you.” Everyone took that as their cue to leave, and Steve said, “Hey, good work today, all of you.” 

“See you next week,” Audra said. Pete waved. Jason and Jules were already gone. Steve’s phone buzzed, and as promised, Jules had sent the address to him. The message said, ‘His name is Klaus. Please don’t hurt him.’ Steve locked up and headed out. He was on a mission, and he almost changed into his uniform for it. Almost. 

He took the subway and then walked four blocks, until he found himself in front of a derelict brownstone. According to Jules, the brownstone was separated into apartments. And this Klaus guy hid out in one of them. The building was an eyesore, and Steve’s hands balled into fists as he climbed the steps and let himself in. 

It was pissing him off. How dare this asshole take advantage of people like this?! He didn’t know how much he would have taken Jules for, but he was sure it would have been a lot. The others always charged insane amounts. The ones Steve had heard about went to jail after they couldn’t prove they had these powers. Steve was going to make sure this Klaus guy joined them. 

Steve took the stairs to the fourth floor, unsurprised to see it was in worse shape than the outside. He found the right apartment number and knocked hard on the door. He could hear a radio going inside, which struck Steve as odd. Did people even listen to the radio anymore? He assumed it was him and the other geriatrics. There was no answer, so Steve knocked again, which caused the door opened a crack. 

Steve could see black eyes looking out at him. 

“Who are you?” The man asked. 

“Steve Rogers, I’m here to see Klaus,” Steve said. 

The man’s eyes widened and he said, “Aren’t you Captain America?” 

“That’s right,” he said, opening the door, revealing an Asian man with slicked-back hair wearing all black. 

He sighed with relief as he said, “Thank God you’re here. I don’t think I can wake him up.” 

“Excuse me?” Steve asked, surprised. 

“Klaus. I’ve been trying to wake him for hours. If he couldn’t die I’d think he was dead,” he said. “Oh, I’m Ben by the way.” 

“Hi Ben,” he said, as Ben gestured for him to come inside. Steve followed Ben in, closing the door behind him. 

The apartment was worse than the hallway. The wallpaper was peeling off the walls, there was trash everywhere. Steve was pretty sure he saw a cockamouse dart under the couch. Ben didn’t seem to notice as he dragged him through the living room, past the kitchen, and into a tiny bedroom. The radio was going in there, and Steve reached over to turn it off. 

On the bed lay a pale, skinny man with curly brown hair and a goatee that reminded Steve of Tony’s. He was clad only in a pair of lace-up leather pants, and in his sleep, he appeared to be clutching a set of dog tags. He was… Beautiful wasn’t the right word, because there was something off about him. Otherworldly, that was the word. 

“I’m not strong enough when he’s like this, I can’t lift him,” said Ben. “Can you get him in the tub for me?” 

“What’s wrong with him?” Steve asked.

“Drugs,” he replied. 

That made sense. If this guy was high as a kite he probably thought he could talk to the dead. Steve’s rage was now overwhelmed by pity. He knelt down and gingerly picked up Klaus, being careful with his head as it lolled to the side. Ben gestured to the bathroom, which was as dirty as the rest of the place, with the exception of the tub. Steve thought it was odd that the tub was the only part of the apartment that was clean. 

He placed Klaus against the porcelain, then Ben said, “Turn the water on,” which Steve did. When the rush of cold water hit him, Klaus’s eyes opened and he screamed. 

“Fuck!” he said, sitting upright. 

“Hi, welcome back,” said Ben. 

His eyes were a startling shade of green, that reminded Steve of jade. Klaus looked at Ben, and then at him and said, “Who the hell is this?” 

“It’s Captain America,” Ben told him. “He’s here to see you.”

“Yeah well you’re gonna have to come back later,” Klaus said, sinking back into the tub. “I don’t have my face on yet and I’m not up for performing.” 

“I’m here to talk to you about Jules Cartwright,” Steve said. 

Klaus turned his head, peering up at Steve as though he didn’t understand what he’d said. “Who?” 

“The punk with the dead wife,” Ben replied. “You have an appointment with them this afternoon.” 

“Not anymore you don’t,” Steve said. 

“Uh… Why?” Klaus asked. 

Steve crossed his arms over his chest, glaring down at Klaus. “Because you’re done. No more seances, no more channeling the dead, nothing like that.” 

Klaus continued to stare, sitting up again. Then he did something unexpected. He laughed. He laughed so hard that Steve thought he might choke on it. Ben was trying to hide a smile too. 

“Oh, that’s… That’s so, so precious. Why didn’t I think of that? Just stop seeing dead people! It’s so simple!” Klaus said.

“Yeah you wish you could stop seeing me,” Ben said to him.

“I do, actually, because you’re a huge pain in my ass,” Klaus replied. “Speaking of, how are you even still here? I thought I banished you.” 

“You did, it wore off when you lapsed into your mini coma.” 

Steve frowned at them and said, “I’m not joking.” 

“No, you’re not, which is sad for you. I get it though, I get it.” Klaus reached up and turned the water off, but didn’t try to get out of the tub. 

“He thinks you’re a fraud,” Ben pointed out. 

“I am,” Klaus said. “But not about that. I can do exactly what I said, Captain.”

“It’s impossible,” Steve said. “No one can channel the dead.”

Ben waved at Steve and said, “Then what am I doing here?” 

“You’re not--” Steve started to say but Ben nodded. 

“I am,” said Ben, who suddenly reached out, his hand going through Steve’s arm. It sent a shiver through him, as though he’d walked into a freezer. Ben pulled his hand back and the feeling stopped. 

Klaus was smirking as he got out of the tub, dripping wet, dog tags stark against his pale skin. “I’m not a fraud, Cap. Just using my curse to my advantage.”

“It’s not a curse,” said Ben and Klaus rolled his eyes.

“Yeah because it’s not hell at _all_ seeing all those fucking…” He trailed off, waving a bit and rolling his eyes. “Nevermind. Look the point is if I have to put up with this I should at least make some money off it.” 

“You were doing so well,” Ben said. It was like Steve wasn’t even in the room.

“No I wasn’t,” Klaus muttered. He walked back into the bedroom and flopped back on the bed, still wet and curling up around a pillow. 

Ben looked at Steve and said, “Help me,” he muttered.

“I don’t get it,” Steve said, following after Klaus. “If he’s dead, how can I see him?” 

“Because he’s like my… Control,” Klaus said, voice slightly muffled by the pillow. "Mediums in the old days used to have one ghost who worked exclusively for them. Help them contact the other dead people. He's also the Jiminy Cricket to my Pinocchio."

“I’ve been haunting him for years,” Ben explained. “Klaus can make me visible without thinking about it, like background radiation.”

“It’s getting him to go the fuck away that’s the trick,” Klaus mumbled. 

Ben turned to Steve and said, “Please, you’ve got to help him.” 

Klaus growled. “Shut up, Ben.” 

“He’s better than this,” said Ben.

“I said shut up Ben!” Klaus shouted, sitting up. 

“He was with Dave, he can be again. Just get him out of here.” 

There was a soft, blue glow coming from somewhere, and Steve looked to see it was Klaus. It was around his hands, and he held one up, fingers extending. “Get out!” Klaus yelled. Steve turned in time to see Ben sigh sadly, then vanish. 

Klaus was breathing hard, and he said to Steve, “You can get the fuck out too! Leave me alone! And take that sad sack one-armed fuck with you!” 

Steve looked at Klaus and said, “What?” 

“Get out!” Klaus yelled. 

Steve was thrown out of the bedroom, the door slamming as he hit the ground in the living room. Steve got to his feet and rushed to the door, trying to open it. It was no good, he might as well have been beating against a vibranium door. He could hear movement inside, but the door wouldn’t open.

He didn’t know what to do. This guy was enhanced, no denying it. What he was, Steve had no idea. He wasn’t prepared for that, and he couldn’t get in there without destroying the place. He chose to leave, until he could get more information and form a game plan. 

As he took the train home, what Klaus had said stuck with him. It almost sounded like he was talking about Bucky.

* * *

He was still thinking about it over a week later. He’d jump at random times, thinking that he heard someone else in his apartment. He was alone though, every time he checked the place. And it continued to gnaw at him. Was Steve haunted by Bucky? It didn’t seem likely. They’d had the kind of bond where if that were true, he should be able to feel it. 

There was also the ghost pleading with him, to help Klaus. 

Which was how the following week, Steve went back to the brownstone. He didn’t have a plan or any idea what he was going to do. But here he was, hoping Captain America could put the fear of God into this skinny little twerp. 

Steve knocked on the door and surprised when it creaked open. He paused when he saw a smear of blood on the door jam. He threw the door open and said, “Klaus? Ben?”

“Back here!” Ben called. 

He dashed to the bedroom, and saw Klaus on the floor. He was bloody, someone had beaten him senseless. Steve knelt by him and felt his pulse. Still alive then. 

“The last customer,” Ben said. “Didn’t like what his brother said through Klaus and decided to shoot the messenger. Or beat the messenger, anyway.” 

“And he stiffed me five hundred bucks,” Klaus groaned. His eyes cracked open, and he said, “Hey, I know you.” 

“We’ve got to get you to a hospital,” Steve said and Klaus shook his head

“Nah, I’ve had worse. I’m fine,” Klaus said. He pushed at Steve, but he was too weak to make him budge. 

“Come on,” Ben said. “I know you don’t like them but you should get checked out at least.” 

“Seriously, I’m fine,” Klaus insisted. “I’m the picture of… Something. What was it? Picture of... Health! I'm the picture of health. I'm in textbooks and everything.” 

Steve snorted and picked Klaus up, saying, “Come on, let’s get you out of here.” He then activated his comm piece and said, “Romanoff, are you receiving me?” 

“Loud and clear,” she replied. 

Klaus glared at Ben and said, “He’s talking to himself and you really think he’s gonna help?” 

“Don’t be an asshole,” Ben muttered. 

“I need a ride,” Steve said. “I’m in a brownstone in the Bronx, got an injured man here and I need to know where to take him. He’s refusing hospital treatment.” 

He could hear clicking on the other end, and then she said, “We’re closest, you can bring him here.” 

“That’s over an hour,” Steve reminded her.

“Then you better hurry,” she replied, and rang off.

Steve sighed and said, “Looks like you’re coming home with me,” Steve told him. 

“Oh goody,” Klaus grumbled. 

Steve carried him out and down to the street. He’d brought Natasha’s car, and as he bundled Klaus into the back he said, “Don’t bleed too much on the seats, the car’s not mine.” 

Klaus said something, but Steve couldn’t hear him. Ben got in the passenger’s seat and they were off. 

About thirty minutes into the drive, Steve asked, “How did he even get like this?” 

“It’s kind of a long story,” Ben told him. 

“We’ve got time,” Steve pointed out.

Ben looked back at Klaus, then started talking. “We’re from another world. See, my brothers and sisters and I were raised to be superheroes. Our Dad adopted us in the hopes he could train us to use our powers to save the world.” 

“Sounds like a professor I know,” Steve said. 

Ben sighed. “Professor X, right? Yeah, we’ve heard of him. Except our Dad was kind of… Evil.” 

Steve raised an eyebrow. “Evil?” 

“Not like cartoonish comic book evil. More like he had a goal and didn’t want anything to get in the way of it. Especially not our happiness or well being,” Ben explained. “So in the process of training us he kind of… Broke us.” 

“What did he do?” 

“He kept talking about all of us reaching our true potential. So he’d do things he thought would help with that. Like Klaus… He can see the dead. He’s always been able to see them and that scares the hell out of him. Especially when we were kids,” Ben was scowling as he said it. “So Dad thought, why not lock him in a mausoleum overnight where there are plenty of dead people? That will help him get over it.”

“Jesus,” Steve said softly and Ben nodded.

“Yeah. One of our sisters? She has the kind of power that makes supervillains shit themselves,” Ben explained. “Vanya. It wasn’t… It wasn’t her fault, it was all of us. We ignored her, excluded her. We pretty much treated her like she was a pest if we acknowledged her at all. Hargreeves started it, but we went along with it. As far as we knew, she didn’t have any powers. It turned out they’d been suppressed her entire life because Hargreeves was afraid of her.” 

“What kind of powers?” Steve asked.

“It’s hard to explain. Basically… She turns sound into power. She can funnel that power into anything but for the most part it’s telekinesis,” Ben told him. “And because of years of abuse? Oh and thanks to the actions of others, she ended up bringing about the apocalypse. The world was coming to an end so our brother had an idea. Go back in time, and fix her.” 

Steve blinked and turned his head to glance at Ben before turning his eyes back on the road. “Time travel?” 

“Yeah, that’s Five’s power. Time travel and spatial jumps. He’d never tried to transport more than himself before though, so it’s no surprise it went a little wonky.”

“How so?” 

“We all ended up in the wrong world, wrong timeline, and in our 13-year-old bodies. Or at least Klaus and the others did, I was already dead so...” Ben trailed off. 

“No body for you.”

“Nope. My ectoplasmic form did revert to my 13-year-old self, weirdly enough. Anyway, we arrived here, a bunch of 30-year-olds in preteen bodies in a world vastly different than our own. And, we decided to try to make it work.” 

“God would you shut up?” Klaus groaned. 

“So you are awake.” 

“I am _now_ because of your yammering,” said Klaus. 

“This coming from the person who talks more than anyone,” Ben replied. 

Klaus rolled his eyes and said, “I do not.” 

“Yes you do. You almost never stop talking,” said Ben. 

“Maybe it’s the goatee,” Steve said, and Ben and Klaus looked at him with confusion.

“...I don’t get it,” Ben said.

“Friend of mine, he’s hyperverbal too. Sports the same kind of facial hair so maybe it’s the goatee,” he explained. At their blank looks, he added, “Tony Stark? Heard of him?” 

Ben laughed. “Yeah Klaus wishes he were as cool as Iron Man.” 

“I may not be as cool or as smart,” Klaus said, “but I’m much prettier.” 

“Keep telling yourself that,” said Ben. 

Privately, Steve agreed. He had a smaller build than Tony. But Klaus had beautiful eyes and plush lips. The exaggerated features that made him look vulnerable. Steve kept that opinion to himself. 

They arrived at the compound, and Steve buzzed them in. When he pulled up to the front, he saw that Klaus was able to sit up. Steve got out and opened the door, asking, “Can you walk?” 

“Probably,” Klaus muttered. He took Steve’s hand and leaned against him once he was out of the car. Steve was glad to see that Klaus hadn’t bled on the upholstery. Ben was standing on the steps, looking up at the compound.

“Avengers HQ,” he said. 

“Whoop-de-friggin’-do,” said Klaus. 

“Come on,” said Steve. 

They went inside, Steve taking Klaus immediately to the infirmary. Dr. Banner wasn’t around, but thankfully, the AI systems were still running. Steve gently lay Klaus in one of the beds, and said, “FRIDAY, could you do a scan of him, please?” 

“Yes Captain,” she replied, and Klaus jumped.

“Did anyone else hear the ceiling talk?” He asked, and Ben rolled his eyes.

“It’s a computer,” Ben said. 

“Right, right,” Klaus mumbled. 

“Scan complete,” said FRIDAY. “Unknown subject has several bruises, abrasions, and lacerations but no internal injuries.” 

“Is he gonna be okay?” Ben asked.

“Should be fine,” FRIDAY told him. “Diagnostics good, vitals are erratic, however.” 

“I thought I felt that awful ‘coming down’ feeling,” Klaus said. He tried to get up, saying, “It’s been fun, but we should get going.” 

“Stay,” Steve said, placing a hand on his chest and pushing him back against the bed. 

“No really, I don’t want to put you out, and I can--”

“Klaus?” 

The three of them looked over to see Natasha standing in the doorway. Her hair was loose, she was barefoot, she was wearing sweatpants, a tank top, and a very surprised look. 

“Auntie Nat?” He was smiling, though there was a hint of nerves in that smile. 

“What happened to you?” She asked, coming into the room.

“Auntie Nat?” Steve questioned, and she shot him a look. 

“Nothing, just, minor disagreement with some guy,” Klaus said. 

“He told him his brother had always hated him,” Ben said. “Then to add insult to injury that his brother had banged his boyfriend.” 

Natasha looked up at Ben and said, “And you’re here. I presume that means your powers are working again,” she looked back down at Klaus.

“No stopping them it looks like,” Klaus replied.

Now Steve was really confused, but Natasha was stroking Klaus’s hair. She gave him a calculating look, then said, “You’re staying here.” 

“No, I--”

“That wasn’t a request. You’re staying, and you’re detoxing. Now,” Natasha said. “Come on.” 

She walked out of the room, Steve following after her. Klaus managed to drag himself out of bed as he said, “No, don’t! I’m fine, I promise! I just need a little peace and quiet. I don’t--” Natasha closed the door to the room and secured it so that Klaus was locked inside. 

Klaus pounded on the door, yelling something, though what, neither of them could hear. He then turned to Ben, saying something to him. Ben talked back, then walked through the door and out of the room. 

“He asked me to tell you that you’re a cold bitch and he’s never liked you,” Ben said, with the air of someone who was being put upon. 

Natasha smirked at him and said, “I know.” 

“I’m gonna stay with him,” Ben said. 

“You don’t have to do that,” Natasha said, but Ben shook his head. 

“Someone’s got to be there when he starts going back. He can’t be alone during that time, you know that,” he told her.

She sighed and asked, “So he hasn’t gotten any better?”

“No,” Ben said mournfully. 

“What are you even doing here? I thought you’d all gone,” Natasha said. 

They looked up as Klaus pounded on the door, still yelling. “I’ll fill you in later.” And Ben walked back into the room. 

That left Steve and Natasha standing in the hallway, and he said, “You know them?” 

“And their brothers and sisters,” Natasha said. “If they’re still here that means the others might be too.” 

This was all too much for Steve. He grabbed Natasha by the arm and said, “Explain. Now.” 

“Short version? Clint and Laura raised them,” Natasha said, and Steve just stared. 

“That doesn’t sound right.” 

“Well, you’re only getting the short version until I know where the others are. Come on.” And Natasha went upstairs, Steve on her heels. 

They went to the conference room, where Natasha was already giving orders. “FRIDAY, I need you to do a signature analysis. I’m uploading the specs now.” She went to her desk, taking out a flash drive and plugging it into the console. A hologram of the world appeared, and seven pictures popped up of children in school uniforms. 

“Scanning now,” said FRIDAY.

Steve watched as the scan was performed. When it was complete, FRIDAY said, “Only two energy signatures detected. And they’re from the two down in the infirmary.” 

Natasha stared for a moment, then sat in her chair. Steve thought he saw tears. 

“Please don’t tell me they left him behind,” she murmured. 

“Nat, what is going on?” Steve asked, and she sighed. 

“I promise I’ll explain later. But if Klaus is off the wagon, that’s bad not just for him but for everyone. We need to get him detoxed first,” she said, and then she got up and left the room. 

Steve stood there, alone, looking at the pictures of the other children. What the hell did he get himself into?

* * *

After a few days, Klaus seemed to be doing better. He wasn’t screaming, ranting, or raving. He stopped beating on the walls of his room trying to get out, and he was eating actual food. He was also talking almost non stop, but to who, Steve wasn’t always sure. Most of the time, it was Ben. There was someone else there, however, and Steve knew it. 

Just yesterday he’d brought Klaus some breakfast. And Klaus had stopped mid-sentence and gave Steve a guilty look. 

“Everything okay?” Steve asked and Klaus nodded. 

“Yeah, fine, everything’s great,” Klaus said. 

“...Are you sure?” 

Klaus grinned. “Totally sure! Couldn’t be better. Okay, I could be much better. But instead, I’m here.” 

He put the tray down and left, but stayed close to the door. He heard soft murmuring, and then Klaus said, “Could you please… Go away? Because you’re giving me a headache. Don’t give me that puppy dog look, Ben does it way better than you.” 

Steve sighed and walked off.

Today, however, Klaus was having breakfast with Steve and Natasha, at her insistence. Ben had joined them as well, reading a book he’d taken from Wanda’s room. Klaus was poking at some eggs when Steve asked, “So how do you two know each other?” 

“Oh, well…” Klaus started, then looked at Natasha. She gave the slightest nod, and he said, “Ben told you we jumped and ended up here. Which, is mostly factual. He left out the part where we appeared in Budapest. Oh and destroyed a couple buildings.” 

“It was four buildings,” Natasha said.

“Right, right. They weren’t occupied at least?” Klaus offered with a wan smile. “So we showed up, and then the Hungarian army shows up. Which means we had to defend ourselves against like… Eight thousand troops.”

“It was barely a hundred,” Natasha corrected.

Klaus leaned his head back, fingertips against his chest as he gave Natasha an offended look. “Who’s telling the story?” 

“If you’re going to tell it, you should tell it right,” she told him. 

He sighed dramatically then said, “I liked you better when I was a kid.” 

“Wasn’t she always threatening to drown you back then?” Ben asked.

“I know what I said,” Klaus muttered. “The army showed up. And then the terrorists showed up because it turns out one of the buildings we destroyed was theirs. We’d already taken care of the army so the terrorists used some… Ugh. Can't remember the name. Magic blinky thingie to knock us out and take us hostage.” 

“You are so eloquent,” Ben teased and Klaus hissed at him.

“SHIELD got word of enhanced individuals in Budapest,” Natasha said. “I’d only recently defected from Russia, not much older than they were. And SHIELD wanted to test my loyalty. So they sent Clint and me to rescue the kids.” 

“And it was amazing,” Klaus said, drawing out the second ‘a’ in amazing. 

Natasha gave him a small smile. “Once they were secure, we brought them back to America. Fury wasn’t sure what to do with them. Initially, he wanted to put them in a training program and make them SHIELD agents.”

“Then Five made that… Impossible. Which is in my top ten favorite memories, I hope there’s a video somewhere,” Klaus said with a laugh. 

Ben laughed too and said, “Fury’s face was priceless.”

“It was, I’ll remember it forever. So anyway, Mr. Secret Agent Man decided we were too much of a liability to be part of SHIELD,” Klaus said. 

“But too dangerous to be released,” Natasha added. 

“Yeah-huh. That’s when Uncle Clint was like, ‘hey I totally have this farm! It's where my new wife is hiding out! Maybe they can go there and just be kids even though they’re not kids,’” said Klaus. “So that’s where we went. We did the whole routine too. Chores, and… School. Like, actual school. We never went to school growing up.”

“Dad taught us,” Ben said. 

Klaus snorted. “Pogo taught us you mean.” 

“Okay Pogo did teach us the basics but Dad was the one in charge,” Ben replied. 

“Who’s Pogo?” Steve asked. 

“He’s our monkey butler,” Klaus said, and Steve raised an eyebrow.

“What?” 

“He’s not a monkey, he’s a chimp,” Ben corrected. “Dad made him. He’s hyper-intelligent, definitely smarter than Klaus, almost smarter than Five.”

“Everyone’s smarter than me. I’m the pretty one, not the smart one,” Klaus muttered. “And Pogo was smarter than Five he just didn’t let on that he was.” 

“He was kind of like a second father to us. One that actually cared,” Ben said and Klaus rolled his eyes.

“Yeah he cared so much he still let Daddy torture and abuse us. He was just really sad about it,” 

Ben glared at him and said, “Don’t talk about Pogo like that.”

“Why not? It’s the truth,” Klaus snapped. “He could have stopped it any time and he didn’t.” 

“Even if that was true, which it wasn’t, you can’t blame what Dad did on Pogo!” Ben said.

“Boys,” Natasha said in a warning tone, and they both looked at her then down at the table.

“Sorry,” said Ben, and Klaus mumbled something that might have been an apology.

He then said, “So Aunt Laura and Uncle Clint let us live with them and it was actually kind of nice. Natasha would visit us sometimes, usually to hang with Diego because he was her favorite.”

“I don’t have a favorite,” Natasha said.

Klaus snorted. “Liar. You loved Diego the best. Even if I couldn’t read your mind it’s so obvious.” 

Steve raised an eyebrow. “You can read minds?” 

“Oh yeah, that’s the other thing we were doing at the farm,” Klaus said. “We were practicing, letting our powers grow. It used to be I could only see and hear the dead. Now I can do way more than that and I hate it.” 

“It’s not all bad,” Ben said quietly but Klaus shook his head. 

“Says you, the person who’s only here because I can’t make myself stop,” Klaus growled. 

“You’re just mad Dave--” Ben started but Klaus threw his fork at him. It went through him, but Ben still jumped. 

“Be nice,” Natasha said, and Klaus sighed. 

“Yeah yeah, I know…” He trailed off. He then pushed his plate away and asked, “May I be excused?” 

“Sure.” 

Klaus got up and went to leave, but Steve asked, “Hey, Klaus?” And Klaus turned to look at him. “What happened to the others? Your brothers and sisters?” 

He stared at Steve for a moment and then said, “Beats me,” before leaving.

Natasha and Steve exchanged glances, and she said, “That’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one.”

Ben sighed. “Yeah, but I don’t know what he’s lying about.” 

“Can’t you tell us what happened?” Steve asked and Ben shook his head.

“I could if I knew,” he said. He got up as well and left the room. 

Natasha sighed, rubbing her forehead. “That could have gone better.” 

“What do you think happened?” Steve asked and she shrugged. 

“Who knows? Their relationship has always been complicated,” Natasha said. 

“Who’s Dave?” 

At that, Natasha sighed. “Someone from his past.” 

Steve wasn’t stupid. Klaus got defensive each time Dave’s name was mentioned. From that, he could infer two things. One, Dave was likely someone Klaus loved very much. And two, Dave was probably dead. Steve knew that pain and felt a pang of it as he thought of Bucky. He wondered what it was Klaus needed. And if there was anything that might make him feel better. 

He thought about it as he finished dinner, deciding that he’d do whatever he could to make Klaus comfortable.


	2. To Hold You In My Sweetest Pain And Suffering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, here we are again! This week has been incredibly stressful and I'm exhausted so I'm not going to yammer much. Hope you like the new chapter.

Someone was yelling. Steve wasn’t sure where it was coming from, but he could guess who it was. It was the middle of the night, and though it was tempting to leave it, he got out of bed and followed the sound out of his room. It was louder, more distressed. “Medic! Dave, it’s okay, I’m here. I’ll get someone! Hold on!” 

He continued on down the hall until he found him. 

Klaus was on the floor in the common room, kneeling, his hands on the ground. He was shaking as he said, “I need a medic! I--” Steve turned on the lights and immediately went to his side. 

“Hey, are you okay? Did you fall?” 

“Dave?” Klaus said, looking up with a smile. It quickly disappeared and he said, “Oh, it’s you.” He then blinked and looked around, saying, “How… When did I get here?” 

“Where were you before?” Steve asked.

“In the shit,” he replied. He looked down at the ground, getting to his feet and circling as he looked for something. “Fuck.” 

“When were you in the army?” He asked.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Klaus mumbled and Steve rolled his eyes.

“Bullshit. I’ve had enough flashbacks to know one when I see one,” Steve said, which made Klaus look at him with a raised eyebrow. “Do you know what triggered you?” 

He rubbed the back of his head and said, “Uh… Nat’s doing her boom boom thing downstairs and the shots kind of….” He trailed off and shrugged. 

“Does that happen often?” 

“I lived in New York, what do you think?” 

“I think you should get back to your room. Come on, I’ll take you,” he said, grabbing Klaus by the arm. 

“Hey! Easy there macho man! I can walk!” Klaus snarled, pulling away from him. He rubbed at his face and sighed. “I am tired. Don’t suppose you have anything for sleeping.” 

“I’ve got one thing,” Steve said. “Come with me.”

They went to the kitchen, where Steve got down a pot and got some milk out of the fridge. Klaus leaned against the counter, slim hips jutting out as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you making me warm milk?” 

“After a fashion,” he replied. 

“God, you’re like… A Normal Rockwell painting come to life,” Klaus said, holding his hands up like a frame. Steve could see the “Hello” and “Goodbye” written on his palms. 

“I was never a fan of Rockwell’s work,” he said as he poured the milk into a pot. “I liked Magritte a lot more.”

“Surrealism, I can get behind that. Not my style, though. I mean I was always a bit of a Warhol fan but then I discovered MacLean’s work which is much nicer in my opinion,” said Klaus. “I know people are like, ‘oh she only does posters for rock bands’ and it’s like, hello? That doesn’t mean they’re not art!”

“It doesn’t surprise me you’re a fan of psychedelic art,” he said with a smile. Steve turned on the burner, making sure to keep the setting low. 

“Who isn’t though, right? I mean it’s a throwback to Art Nouveau but with brighter colors.” He held up his hands and extended his fingers for emphasis. 

Steve chuckled. “True. I didn’t know you were an artist.” He opened one of the cabinets and took down some vanilla flavoring and poured a bit into the pot. He stirred as Klaus shrugged. 

“I’m not, not really. I mean I like to paint and draw and stuff but it’s not what I do,” he said, and there was a deep bitterness in his tone. He didn’t know what to say to that, so he didn’t say anything. 

Steve went to the spice cabinet and searched through it, finding some lavender. He placed it in the blender and then went and grabbed the pot. It had just started to simmer, which was exactly how he wanted it. He poured the milk into the blender, put the lid on, and hit pulse. 

Once it was well blended, he grabbed a glass and poured it out, handing it to Klaus. It was a light purple, and Klaus eyed it suspiciously. “This is supposed to make me sleep?” 

“The warm milk helps you relax, the vanilla and lavender will soothe you,” Steve said. 

“You’re adorably clueless,” Klaus muttered, but he drank the milk. 

He finished it with a sigh and handed the glass to Steve. He, in turn, put it in the sink and said to Klaus, “You should go back to bed, it’s late.” 

“Yes Mom,” he replied, then sighed. He threw an arm around Steve’s shoulders and added, “Care to escort me to my room? Make sure I’m not gonna escape?” 

There was a flippant tone, but something beneath that caught Steve’s attention. Fear, plain and simple. Of what, Steve didn’t know. His resolve strengthened, and he said, “If you don’t mind.” 

“Why would I mind? Handsome fella like you,” He said, light and airy. He was smiling, and Steve thought it might be genuine. 

He led Klaus to his room, and asked, “Do you need anything?” 

“Stay for a while? Until I fall asleep?” He asked, and Steve nodded. 

He went in and watched as Klaus crawled into bed and curled up under the covers. He had his back turned to Steve, and he was so small. Steve grabbed a chair and sat by the bed, asking, “Do you need me to read you a story or something?” 

Klaus scoffed, his shoulders shaking with laughter. “Shut the light off?” 

Steve got up and shut it off, then sat in the chair again. It was quiet, he could hear Klaus breathing, and the sound of crickets outside. He was sure Klaus was asleep until he heard Klaus whisper, “Vietnam.”

“Excuse me?” Steve asked. 

“You asked when I was in the army. Vietnam, 1968. Accidentally went back in time and spent almost a year there,” he told him. 

“Jesus,” Steve whispered. He’d read about the Vietnam War, and the things he’d read would have made anyone’s hair curl.

“Yeah turns out that’s something our worlds have in common, wars. Mostly. You guys have had some ones since the 90s we don’t have in our world,” he said. 

“Really?”

“Really,” he sighed again. “Which goes to prove yours is way more fucked up.” 

“So… Dave was someone you served with?” Asked Steve, not expecting an answer. 

“He was the reason I stuck around,” he said. “I’d have gone on, you know? After the war. I’d have stayed in the past with him.”

“But you lost him.”

“Yeah.” 

Steve took a deep breath, curiosity getting the better of him. “Can’t you use your powers?”

“Nope. Turns out I can’t pull spirits from one world to another. At least not without Five. Ben's only here because he was hanging on to my jacket when we made the jump from our world to this one,” he replied. He was quiet for a few minutes, and he added, “This is much easier to talk about with the lights out.” 

“False intimacy,” Steve replied. “It’s why so many people have serious discussions in cars.” 

Klaus snorted. “Sounds about right.” He sighed. “You’re not going to get all… Weird on me, right?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“About Dave.” 

Steve frowned. “I don’t understand.” 

He heard Klaus sit up. “About me being into guys. I like girls, too. And people in between. I met this genderfluid person once who was a wild, _wild_ ride. Oh I was sore for _days_ afterward but I gave as good as I got.” 

He sighed. “Despite what Fox News says, I am not and never have been prejudiced against others. Especially not for race, gender, or sexual orientation.” 

“Wow, that sounded rehearsed.” 

“If you say it as often as I have to, it does, yeah,” he replied. 

“It would be hypocritical of me anyway.” 

Klaus moved again, and Steve heard his feet hit the floor. “Oh really? Do tell.” 

For a moment, Steve almost didn’t say. He was a private person, and Klaus was still a stranger. He could see how much he was hurting, and that Klaus had taken the step to trust him. So he said, “I’m bisexual. I was actually engaged, before the Decimation. To another man.”

The silence was palpable. Then Klaus said, “That’s hot,” and Steve laughed. 

“Having fun?” 

They both jumped, but then Klaus sighed and groaned, “Ben! Where have you been?” 

“Wasn’t able to get through,” Ben replied. “Hi, Steve.”

“Hi,” he replied, getting up. “I should be going.”

“You don’t have to,” Klaus said, but Steve shook his head.

“No, I should. Ben can stay with you. Besides I’m about dead on my feet anyway.”

“Poor choice of words,” said Ben.

“You can’t even feel your feet, shut up,” Klaus said to him.

“Hey, stop it,” Steve said sternly. “Go to sleep.”

“Yes sir, Captain America, sir,” said Klaus, sarcasm heavy in his tone. He heard more than saw Klaus get back into bed. 

He left, navigating through touch rather than turning the lights back on. Once he was out in the hall, he sighed. Well, it was progress.

* * *

Klaus was in the living room, curled up on the couch. His skinny arms were wrapped around his legs, his head lying against the back of the sofa. Ben was nowhere in sight, which was unusual since he and Klaus were ordinarily attached at the hip. He looked sad, so Steve sat in one of the chairs nearby.

“You okay?” Steve asked. 

“Fine,” Klaus said in a dreamy voice. 

“You sure?” 

He sighed, lifting a hand and rubbing his face. “I can’t… I don’t know.” 

Steve leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Klaus, this might be presumptuous of me, but I think you should come with me to group.” 

“That is presumptuous,” he replied, lying on the couch now. 

“It would help you,” Steve said. 

Klaus rolled his eyes. “No. I like being here better, anyway. I don’t want to go back to the city.”

“Because of the drugs?” 

He was quiet, giving Steve a disdainful look. He then said, “I like it here because there aren’t many ghosts.” 

“What do you mean?” 

Klaus stretched out more, rolling onto his side and hugging himself. Steve thought he was going to ignore him. Instead, he said, “Do you know what it’s like being out there, after the Decimation?” 

“It’s been… Quiet,” Steve muttered, and Klaus snorted.

“Yeah, for you. For me it’s much louder.” He rubbed the back of his neck, eyes on the floor. 

“Look, if you don’t want to go to group, all right. But talk to me, please?” Steve begged. “I can tell you’re hurting, I want to help.” 

He turned onto his other side, so his face was smashed against the couch and his back was to Steve. “You wouldn’t understand.” 

“Then make me.” 

Klaus was silent again, which worried Steve. From what Ben and Natasha had told him, Klaus not talking was a bad sign. Steve got up and moved closer, kneeling by the couch. He put a hand on Klaus’s shoulder, who jumped, then relaxed. 

“You’re so nice,” he said in a small voice.

“Please, Klaus?” 

He took in a shuddering breath, and Steve knew he was crying. He rubbed Klaus’s back and waited. 

“I don’t want to go back to the city because people died there,” he said. 

“In the Decimation?”

“Yeah. They’re not… They’re not frozen, you know? And most of them they don’t know what happened. They think they’ve turned invisible or maybe that they’re in hell. The ones who know they’re dead are the worst. Because the minute they know I can see them they start demanding things of me.” He curled up in a ball. “Things I don’t… I can’t do.” 

“Like what?” 

“They want me to tell their families they love them. Or where things are hidden. Or who’s supposed to get what in the will. Some are petty and want me to pass on messages in revenge or to hurt. Others despair because no one misses them and it’s too much for me!” Klaus thumped his fist against the back of the couch. “I can’t keep doing it! And they follow me around like I’m supposed to fix everything for them and I can’t! I can’t even fix things for myself! There’s no one I can talk to about it because the only people who’d understand are missing or dead!” 

He was sobbing, and Steve got up. He picked up Klaus and sat down, holding him like a child. Klaus’s tears were soaking his t-shirt as he went on. “The only dead person I want to see isn’t here. And I miss him so much it makes me sick! I thought I was over this! I haven’t seen him in years but now that everything’s turned to shit he’s all I can think about!” 

“I know how you feel,” Steve said, hugging Klaus tight. 

“How?” Klaus croaked. 

“Because it’s the same with me,” Steve admitted. “The one person I love the most, the one I’d go to hell and back for with a smile on my face? He was the first to go in the Decimation, the very first. He died right in front of me. I know I’m supposed to move on but… It's hard.” 

Klaus had stopped crying by this time, and he stared at Steve for a moment. He then asked, “Guy around my height, long brown hair, blue eyes, metal arm? He’s the one right, the one you were engaged to?” 

Steve thought his heart stopped, and for a second he couldn’t breathe. He nodded. “Yeah, that’s him.” 

He got up, stepping away from Steve as he wiped his nose with the back of his hand. He was looking to Steve’s left, and he said, “He’s still around. You just can’t see him.” 

“I-- Bucky?” Steve asked, and Klaus nodded. 

“Yeah, that’s him, Bucky Barnes,” he replied. He was still staring to Steve’s left, and he said, “He told me to tell you you’re a punk.”

“Is he haunting me?” Steve stood up, looking to his left as well, though he couldn’t see anything.

“Sometimes,” Klaus said. “Not… Not always. But he shows up more often than not. He says he wants to make sure you’re not doing anything stupid. Not that he can stop you, but he worries.” 

Steve didn’t know what to say to that. What could he say? He’d had his suspicions with the way that Klaus acted, but now he was saying Bucky was here? Steve sighed and said, “I can’t.”

“Excuse me?” 

“I said I can’t. I-- tell him to go away,” Steve said.

“He can hear you just fine, tell him yourself.” 

Klaus was angry all of a sudden, glaring daggers at Steve. “I didn’t ask for this you know,” he said. “If I could have picked a superpower for myself I’d have picked like… Astral projection. Or maybe something with colors, I don’t know. I don’t _want_ to see dead people all the time! They scare the living shit out of me!” 

“I know you didn’t ask for it,” Steve replied. “I’m sorry that I made it sound that way. You-- I was surprised is all.” 

“Whatever,” Klaus said. He vaulted over the couch and headed towards the deck, saying, “He’s your boyfriend, you deal with him! Count yourself lucky that he’s even here.” And with that, Klaus opened the door and slammed it behind him. So hard that Steve was surprised he didn’t break the glass. Steve watched as he headed down to the water. Klaus plopped by the shore and grabbed a few rocks. He seemed to mellow down as he tossed the rocks one by one into the water.

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Damn it,” he muttered, knowing he’d screwed up yet again. 

Why was Klaus so hard to talk to?

* * *

Steve left the compound, taking his motorcycle into the city. He had to get to group. If he couldn’t help Klaus, he could at least help them. 

When he came back that night, he found Natasha in the dining room, alone. 

“Where’s Klaus?” Steve asked.

“Didn’t feel like eating,” she replied. She was eating Chinese take out, slurping her noodles in a most ungraceful fashion. It made Steve chuckle. 

She handed him a container of fried rice, and he shoveled a few spoonfuls into his mouth. 

“He’s mad at me,” Steve said. 

“No he isn’t,” she said. “He’s hurt and confused.” 

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Wasn’t meant to.”

They continued to eat in silence, until Steve asked, “Did he tell you Bucky is haunting me?” 

“Can’t say I’m surprised,” she said. “You two were so codependent I thought we were going to have to have an intervention.” 

“Thanks, Romanoff,” said Steve, rolling his eyes. She shrugged. 

“It’s what happens. You two were in love with each other for how long? And he’s the only person from the old days that you knew who was still alive.” 

Steve sighed, running his hands through his hair. “I feel terrible. I wasn’t thinking and I acted like it was Klaus’s fault.” 

“Then apologize,” she said.

“You say that like it’s so simple.”

“It is that simple, you’re making it more complicated than it needs to be. You’re acting like he’s a chore, not a person.” 

“So you’ve talked to him?” 

“Not as much as I would like. I’ve known him since he was a kid. Well, when he was in a kid’s body. You’d think that would mean he’d open up to me, instead he’s closing himself off.” 

Steve stared at her for a minute, then asked, “What can he do? With his powers I mean?” 

“Everything he said and more,” Natasha said. 

“So… Mind reading?” 

“He has to concentrate to make it happen,” she said. “There are other abilities he has that concern me more. It’s actually why I’m glad that Clint’s not here. I know Klaus wants to see him but that wouldn’t be a good idea. Clint knows exactly what he can do.” 

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ve seen that he can manifest his brother. What you don’t know is that with enough focus and energy, Klaus can make him tangible. In a way, he can bring Ben back,” she told him.

“You’re kidding,” Steve whispered.

She shook her head. “I wish I were. He could do it with any ghost, but with Ben, it’s the easiest because they’ve known each other their entire lives. Well, Klaus’s entire life.” 

“So he can bring back the dead?” 

“Temporarily. He has other abilities on top of that. Some telekinesis, and channeling,” she concluded. 

“Channeling? Like…” 

“Like he lets a ghost possess him. I’ve seen him do it, I never want to see it again.” She sighed and pushed away her box of noodles, offering it to Steve.

He took it and asked, “What did he do?” 

Natasha bit her lip, looking away. Then she gazed back at Steve and said, “He channeled an old acquaintance of mine from the Red Room.” 

Steve put the noodles down, unsure of what to say. He knew what they’d done to her. That they’d made the girls compete against each other, and when someone lost, they died. Natasha had killed all of the other girls in the program. She would have had to, or she wouldn’t be sitting there with Steve eating days old takeout. 

“That must have been awful,” Steve said.

“You have no idea. She tricked him, you see. Told him that we were friends and she wanted to say hello again. Valentina then used his body and his powers to try to kill me,” she said. 

“Jesus.”

“She only released him because I told her if she didn’t, I’d drag her out of hell to kill her again. Valentina knows I never make empty threats.” 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you could actually do that,” Steve said and Natasha snorted.

“He felt terrible afterward. I felt worse because I beat the crap out of a fifteen-year-old whose only goal was to impress me,” Natasha said. 

“He didn’t have any control over her at all?” 

“No, because when he’s channeling the dead, they can use his body however they want. He doesn’t like to do it for that reason. Though from what he told me he’s gotten used to it.” 

Her eyes were moist, he could see tears welling up. Steve reached out and squeezed her hand. 

“He’s okay, he’s somewhere that he doesn’t have to do that anymore. And I know he understood you wouldn’t have hurt him willingly.” 

“I hate that this is who he’s become,” she replied. “He was getting better. We had hope for him and the rest of the Hargreeves children. I wish they’d never left the farm.” 

“Why did they?” 

Natasha sighed. “Fury was talking about having them join the Avengers Initiative. Luther wouldn’t allow it. He thought it would interfere with their own mission to stop the apocalypse. He and the others decided to go into hiding.” 

“Did you know where they were going?” 

“No. Klaus almost told me, but Five stopped him,” she said, a sad smile on his face. “Even after all that growing up he did, he still looked up to us, Clint and I. Especially after New York. He adored Laura too and loved the kids.”

“But he didn’t want to stay because he didn’t want to be used for his powers,” Steve said, and Natasha nodded.

“The last time I saw him, he asked me. ‘Do you think they’d leave me alone if I didn’t have my powers anymore?’”

“What did you say?” 

“I told him the truth,” said Natasha. “That even without powers, they would still want to know him. He’s from a world completely different than our own. They’d want to study him. Then he said something I’ll never forget. ‘I guess no one’s ever going to want me for me.’”

He could see that Natasha was broken-hearted at that, and Steve couldn’t blame her. It hurt him to hear it, too. Had anyone ever gotten close to Klaus just for being Klaus? The only person Steve could think of was Dave.

“I’m going to take him out tomorrow,” Steve said, and Natasha raised an eyebrow. 

“Where?” 

“Just to town,” Steve said. “Dinner, nothing fancy. He needs to get out of here for a couple of hours.” 

“And be around people who don’t know what he can do,” she added and Steve sighed.

“Maybe if he’s around normal people for a bit it will help him calm down. I don’t want him to feel like his powers are the only reason we’re keeping him around.” 

“They are the biggest reason, though.” 

Steve pulled away from Natasha, eyebrows knit in confusion. “What did you just say?” 

She exhaled with annoyance. “I don’t mean like that. I don’t want Klaus here to use his powers for us. I want him here because his powers are driving him insane and he needs to relearn how to control them.” 

“Oh,” he said. 

Natasha got up, closing the take out boxes and picking up her fork. “Dinner would be a good idea. Take him to Peppino’s, he loves Italian.” 

“Thank you.”

She leveled him with a deadly stare. “Take care of him, he won’t let me do it. And if you hurt him they’ll never find your body.” With that, she left the room. 

Steve sat back in his chair, knitting his fingers together and resting them behind his head. He’d talk to Klaus in the morning. By then, Steve hoped he had an idea of how to help him.


	3. Everything’s Unfair in our Lust and War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm updating earlier than I originally planned because I've got D&D on Friday and I had a little free time this evening. I'm having a little trouble with the editing because there's SO much purple prose and I am doing this myself. This is not a call for a beta but it is me calling myself out for being an idiot. At least this is already done so that's a good thing. I'm working on the chapters for We Are Cancelling The Apocalypse, I'm hoping to have that finished by the end of the year. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope that everyone likes this so far. I'm pretty sure I'm on schedule to get this edited and posted by Halloween.

When Steve tracked Klaus down the next morning, he found him sitting with Ben in the living room. They were talking quietly about something. They looked up when Steve came in, and Klaus got up to leave. Ben however grabbed his arm and said, “Uh, no.”

“Let go,” Klaus said and Ben smirked. 

“Make me,” Ben replied.

"You grabbed his arm," Steve said, and immediately felt like an idiot.

"Yeah, I'm corporeal sometimes. Like when _someone's_ not controlling his powers."

Klaus kept pulling, but he couldn’t get Ben to let go. He sighed and sat on the couch again saying, “You suck.”

“You can’t control them?” Steve asked. He remembered Natasha said that he wasn't, but he hadn't lost control of them as far as Steve could see. Klaus sighed and shook his head. 

“No. I could, before. But not since the Snap,” Klaus told him.

“It’s the drugs,” Ben said and Klaus blew a raspberry at him. 

“That’s only part of the problem and you know it,” Klaus grumbled.

“What else is causing it?” Steve asked.

Klaus rubbed the back of his neck, his head falling back. “Emotional problems.” 

Steve looked at Ben and asked, “Would you mind leaving for now? I’d like to speak to your brother alone.”

“Good luck with that,” Ben scoffed, but he got up and left. Steve looked back at Klaus, raising an eyebrow.

“What did he mean by that?” 

“Bucky’s here,” Klaus said. He sank against the couch, covering his face with his hands. 

Steve jumped at that, looking around. He reminded himself that he wouldn’t be able to see or hear Bucky. He asked, “Have you tried exercising your powers since you got here?” 

“No, because I’m trying to keep from climbing the walls or breaking out,” Klaus told him. He moved his hands away from his face, green eyes fixed on Steve. 

“You don’t want to be here?” 

“I don’t want to be sober,” Klaus admitted.

Steve could understand that. If he had to deal with what Klaus did, he wasn’t sure he’d want to be sober either. “We could help you.”

“How?” 

“Train you,” Steve said. “Make it so you have control over your powers again. Drive away the ghosts you don’t want to see.” 

“You realize that’s gonna apply to your fiance too right?” Klaus asked. He then turned his head and said to empty air, “I didn’t say I don’t like you. No of course not. No, that’s not the issue.” He then groaned. 

“What’s he saying?” Steve asked. 

“He said I’m not getting rid of him that easy,” Klaus muttered. 

He felt ridiculous, but Steve said, “Bucky, don’t bother Klaus, okay? If he says go away, go away.” 

Klaus looked to his left, listening to something Steve couldn’t hear. “He says you’re not the boss of him, you punk.” 

That startled a laugh out of Steve. “You’re right, I’m not. But it’d be a nice gesture if you could give Klaus some alone time.”

“He says he will if I actually work to control my powers.” Klaus grabbed a pillow and put it over his face, curling up on the couch. He said something that was muffled by the cushion.

“What was that?” Steve asked.

Klaus moved the pillow away from his face and said, “That’s all anyone wants. For me to control my powers and use them to save the world. That’s not what I want.” 

“What do you want?” 

“I… I want to be normal,” Klaus said in a murmur. “Not like, straight and working a day job with a wife and kids normal, that’s too normal you know what I mean? I don’t want dead people yelling at me all the time. I don’t want to hear people’s thoughts because they’re always awful. And as cool as this is,” he suddenly started floating above the couch, making Steve’s jaw drop. “I’d rather keep my feet on the ground.” 

“What would you do if you didn’t have powers?” 

Klaus stared at him, as though no one had asked him that question before. It wasn’t hard to guess that no one had. “I’d probably want to be an artist. Or a poet.” 

“A poet?” Steve smiled, and Klaus shrugged. 

“I used to write lyrics. Diego and Vanya started a band when they were kids, and I could kind of play bass so I joined them. The problem was they couldn’t write for shit. So I wrote all the lyrics.” Klaus had slowly floated back to the couch, and sprawled across it, resting one foot on the coffee table. “I couldn’t write music, that was all Vanya’s thing. But I could write lyrics. They were pretty good. Morbid, which surprised no one.” 

“What kind of art would you make?”

“I liked to paint. Collage too, that was always fun. I tried some sculpting once but then I kind of made a mess in Laura’s craft room so I wasn’t allowed to do it again,” Klaus told him.

Steve thought about that for a moment, then said, “Come with me.” 

Klaus gave him a weird look, but he got up and followed Steve out of the room. He’d never invited anyone along before, but he’d promised himself that he’d help Klaus however he could. So when he opened the door and turned on the light, he had to fight the urge to close the door in Klaus’s face.

It was a small space, at least compared to Steve’s bedroom. It was well lit, with canvases stacked up in one corner. There was an easel in the other corner, a blank canvas set up on it. There was also a table with paints and brushes. Another table carried other tools, such as palettes, sketchbooks, and varnishes. Steve had a healthy collection of art books as well. There were smocks hung on hooks and paintings that Steve had done on the walls.

“You have a studio?” Klaus asked, walking in.

“I don’t paint as much as I used to,” he replied. “But when I do I have this space. Tony set it up for me.”

“That was nice of him,” he said. Klaus was investigating the paints. “Was that before or after Germany?”

Steve paused. “You know about that?” 

“Yeah, Auntie Nat and Uncle Clint contacted us about it. Five said we should stay out of it. I said we should help, but I was outvoted,” Klaus told him.

“I didn’t know that,” Steve muttered.

“You didn’t know I existed until three months ago,” Klaus reminded him.

“Good point.” 

Klaus examined all the tools and supplies. He was also looking at the paintings, and he smiled at one. It was a painting that Steve had done of Wanda, long before Lagos or Germany had happened. It wasn’t too long after her brother had died, and she’d been depressed. However, she’d also been determined to learn to control her powers. And through her bereavement, her power was refined. He’d painted what he’d seen; someone who conquered their grief and used it to better themselves. Something that Steve wished he were capable of.

“These are amazing,” Klaus said. “Did you go to art school?” 

“I did, actually,” Steve replied. 

“That’s awesome. I wanted to do that, I even had a place picked out. The School of Visual Arts in New York.” There was a sad smile on Klaus’s face as he moved on to the next painting. One that Steve had painted of Brooklyn.

“I’ve heard of it, great school. Why didn’t you go?” 

Klaus snorted. “You’re kidding, right? How was I going to afford that? I didn’t have a job or money. SHIELD gave us some IDs but we didn’t have social security numbers or anything like that. Then when we went into hiding, we had to drop those IDs and get new ones. What’s worse, SHIELD knew exactly where I wanted to go to school. I couldn’t go to New York. Hell, it was hard enough hiding out in New Jersey.” 

“New Jersey? Why would you go to Jersey?” Steve asked, unable to keep the disgust out of his voice. 

“Because no one would look for us there,” Klaus pointed out. “We were hiding out in this little town outside of Newark. Belleville, I think it was called? We’d train in an abandoned warehouse at night, and work odd jobs during the day. Well, the others did.” 

Steve frowned. “What did you do?” 

“I worked at a New Age shop as a medium. It was Five’s idea. Said we could keep a roof over our heads and I could work on my powers at the same time.” He paused in front of another painting, this one of the whole Avengers team. They’d posed for a picture together after Ultron, and Steve had done his best to reproduce it. “I hated it,” Klaus muttered.

“I’m sorry,” Steve said because he didn’t know what else to say.

“I’m used to it,” he replied. 

He sighed. “Look… I agree with your brother. You should relearn to control your powers. But I promise I won’t make you use them.”

Klaus turned around, an eyebrow quirked. “Oh no?” 

“No,” Steve said. “I know that’s what people want you to do. But I think you’d be happier if you did. And I also want you to learn this.” Steve picked up one of the books and handed it to Klaus. 

“You want me to learn to paint?” 

“You said you wished you’d gone to art school, right?” Steve smiled. “You’re smart, Klaus. With some work, you can learn everything you need to know. I’ll help you.” 

Klaus had opened the book and was flipping through the pages. He then turned his head, once again listening to a voice Steve couldn’t hear. Klaus then asked, “You’re not gonna make me join the Avengers?”

“No, not if you don’t want to.”

“And I don’t have to like… Summon dead people for therapy sessions anymore?” 

“Again, not if you don’t want to.” 

Klaus closed the book and smiled. “Okay, I’ll do it.” 

Steve smiled in return. “Great. Let’s get started.” 

“Now?” Klaus whined.

“Yeah. Come on, grab a sketchbook.”

“Oh, you mean to start the art now?” 

“Exactly.” Steve grabbed a sketchbook and pencils, and Klaus did the same. They sat together at the table in the center of the room, and Steve showed Klaus what he knew about drawing.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Steve remembered what he’d told Natasha, and asked Klaus if he would like to go to dinner. Klaus, it turned out, loved Italian food and accepted. Steve asked Natasha along as well, and Ben wanted to come too. 

“You can’t eat,” Natasha pointed out and Ben frowned.

“No, I can’t, but I can enjoy being out amongst other people,” Ben pointed out.

“It’s okay,” said Klaus. “He can come.” 

So they all piled in Steve’s car (Natasha’s was far too small) and drove to Peppino’s. Natasha had called ahead, so they were able to get a table right away. They sat down, Klaus pulling Ben’s chair out for him so he was sitting next to Klaus. For all his annoyance at his brother’s presence, Klaus was very considerate of him. 

The waiter asked for their drink orders. In deference to Klaus, Steve said he’d have a Coke. Natasha ordered sparkling water, while Ben said, “Oh, I won’t be having anything. I didn’t know we were going out so I ate already. Sorry guys.” 

“That’s cool,” said Klaus. “I’ll have an iced tea, please. Lots of sugar, no lemon.” The waiter was back in no time and placed each drink in front of them. They were given menus, and he left. Steve looked the menu over, asking Natasha, “Any recommendations?” 

“I always order chicken parmesan,” Natasha said. 

“Boring,” Klaus groaned, and Ben glared at him.

“This coming from the guy who gets the weirdest possible pizzas he can find.”

“Not every time,” Klaus said. “Besides most places don’t serve my favorite.”

“And what is your favorite?” Steve asked and Klaus smiled.

“Ossobuco, especially with a creamy risotto,” he said.

Steve looked at the menu, then said, “Says here they have a roasted shrimp risotto.”

“Ooo! Where?” 

Steve leaned over and pointed it out on Klaus’s menu, and he smiled. “Okay, I know what I’m getting,” He clapped his hands together and stomped his feet like a little kid, and Steve laughed. 

“Me too,” Natasha said, snapping her menu closed. She was giving Steve a knowing smirk, one that turned his smile into a frown. 

“I miss food,” Ben said mournfully, and Klaus sighed.

“Yeah, I know.” 

“You know what was always good? Those breakfasts that Mom would make,” he said.

“Yeah! She’d always make it into smiley faces! I liked the mini pancakes best. With the chocolate chip smiles,” Klaus replied with excitement. “How do you think she learned it?”

“Dad must have programmed it into her,” said Ben. 

“Must have what?” Steve asked, and Klaus and Ben looked at him.

“Oh, right, sorry. Dad thought we needed a Mom.”

“And a nanny that Vanya couldn’t throw out the window,” Klaus added.

“Right. So he built Grace. She was an android programmed to cook, clean, and render medical aid,” Ben explained.

Natasha was wearing her little smile again. She said, “Every time I learn something new about you two I’m always horrified and a little impressed.”

“I thought we mentioned Mom before,” Klaus said and Natasha nodded.

“You did, you neglected to mention your mother was a robot. Which would explain a lot.” 

“Hey, she did the best she could,” he said, getting defensive. 

“I’m not saying she didn’t,” Natasha replied. “But that’s a strange way to grow up.”

The waiter arrived, putting a halt to any more conversation. They gave their orders. Klaus getting the shrimp risotto and a salad. Natasha the chicken parmesan and also a salad. Steve decided on ricotta gnocchi with prosciutto and soup. He said he would be right back with bread and their appetizers. When he walked off, she continued. “Not that I have any room to complain about weird ways to grow up.” 

“I still think the assassin school would have been better,” Klaus said. Natasha raised an eyebrow.

“Do you?” 

“Yeah, they wouldn’t have tricked us into thinking we’re a family.” 

Natasha shrugged. “You guys would have been forced to kill each other eventually.” 

“Yeah, if that were the case, Five would have been the only survivor. You’d have been dead the first week,” Ben said.

“Fair.”

Steve decided they needed to change the subject. So he asked, “What about here? What was it like growing up a second time?”

At that, Klaus grinned. “It was awesome! We went to school.”

“You hated school,” Ben said.

“Yeah, but we got to go. And it was actually kind of fun. We got chores, and I even had a pet for a while,” said Klaus, his voice warming. 

“A pet? I didn’t know you had a pet,” Natasha said. The waiter had returned with their bread, salads, and Steve’s soup.

As he tucked into his salad, Klaus said, “Yeah, it was a little sparrow.”

“You didn’t keep him in the house, did you?” Natasha asked and Klaus shook his head.

“No, I didn’t keep him so much as feed him sometimes. And sometimes it would land on my shoulder and peep at me.” 

“I remember that bird,” Ben said. “Whatever happened to it?” 

“Don’t know,” Klaus replied. “Stopped showing up one day.” 

Steve had finished half his minestrone by this time. And he asked, “Have you considered getting another pet? Like a dog?” 

He shook his head. “No. I wasn’t, uh, well enough.” 

“You mean you were too strung out,” Ben said bluntly, and Klaus sighed.

“Yeah, I was fucked up on drugs. Let’s bring that up every ten minutes,” Klaus snapped. 

“Hey, stop,” Natasha said, looking at Ben. 

Ben at least had the good grace to look embarrassed. “Sorry.” 

Klaus ignored him and pushed his salad away. “Whatever. Anyway, I had thought of getting a cat.”

“Why a cat?” Steve asked, and Klaus shrugged.

“I’ve always liked cats. They’re weird. Also they can see ghosts so it would be kinda cool if it wasn’t just me.” 

Steve looked at Natasha, and knew the surprise on her face echoed his own. “Cats can see ghosts?” Natasha asked.

“Yeah-huh,” Klaus replied. “They’re the best ghost detectors there are. Besides me, anyway. Any time you’re not sure a place is haunted? Get a cat.”

The waiter was back, this time with their food. He was giving them a weird look, and Steve offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Judging from the frown he got in return, he thought not. They ate and talked. Klaus talked about growing up a second time. How much better he liked it in their world. 

At one point, Klaus got up to use the restroom. Natasha had done the same, which left Ben with Steve. 

“Hey,” Steve said softly. “I want you to lay off Klaus.”

Ben raised an eyebrow. “Do you?” 

“He’s making an effort, that can’t be easy for him. Just, try not to bring up past mistakes so much.”

He crossed his arms, and Steve expected some blowback. Instead Ben said, “Okay.” 

They came back, and Klaus sat across from Steve again. “My ears are burning,” he said and Ben rolled his eyes. “So what were you saying about me? Anything juicy? I promise whatever he told you is probably true. Especially if it’s something sexy.” 

“You’re the worst,” Ben groaned. 

“You’re jealous I’m prettier than you,” Klaus shot back and Natasha scoffed. 

“Allison’s the pretty one,” she said, and Klaus’s jaw dropped, mock offended. 

“How dare you,” he said, and Natasha was smirking. 

“Sorry, truth hurts.”

Klaus turned to Steve, batting his eyelashes. “You think I’m pretty, don’t you?” 

Steve should have seen the question coming, but he was caught off guard. Klaus was wearing an Army jacket with the sleeves cut off, a tie dye shirt, snug leather trousers with laces up the sides, and Converse tennis shoes. The overhead lights brought out the amber highlights in his brown curls, and his usual smokey eyeliner highlighted his jade green eyes. His plush lips were turned up in a smirk, and Steve’s heart was suddenly going a hundred miles an hour. 

“You’re gorgeous,” Steve said, and Klaus smirked triumphantly at Natasha and Ben.

“See? I’m definitely the pretty one.”

“Steve’s never even seen your siblings,” Natasha replied. “That doesn’t count.”

“Oh well I can fix that,” Klaus told him. He took his phone out, and swiped through the pictures, showing them to Steve. “That’s Luther,” the picture showed a serious young man with sandy hair. “Diego,” another serious young man, this one Latino with a scar on his face. “Allison,” a stunning black woman with blonde hair. “Five,” a skinny kid with old eyes in a school uniform. “and Vanya,” a petite woman with chocolate brown eyes and a lovely face. 

Steve took the phone from Klaus, swiping through the pictures. “These are your brothers and sisters?” 

“Yep.” 

“Good looking bunch,” Steve said. “But you’re the prettiest.” 

“Ha!” Klaus exclaimed, grinning at Natasha. 

She looked like she wanted desperately to say something. Instead, she muttered about paying the check. Steve gave Klaus his phone back, and after they paid the bill, they returned to the compound. They’d gotten some dessert to go, and Klaus took his to his room, Ben on his heels. They were chattering as they went. Steve stood in the foyer with Natasha, she said, “You like him.”

“I do,” he said, not bothering to lie.

“Remember what I said,” she replied and went to her own room.

“I am so fucked,” Steve murmured.

* * *

After their night out, Steve and Klaus started spending more time together. He was sober and needed to practice his powers. Steve was sure that if he had better control the ghosts wouldn’t be riding roughshod over Klaus. At first, Klaus was not enamored of the idea. But then Ben said, “If you don’t get control over your powers I’m gonna be forced to watch you have sex for the rest of your life.”

“You could turn your back,” Klaus pointed out.

Ben frowned at him. “I will absolutely stare at you while you’re in bed specifically because you’re not even trying.”

“You are such an asshole,” said Klaus. 

So every morning for several months, Klaus would spend two hours training to fight with Natasha. Then it was four hours of Steve and Ben running him through drills to use his powers. After dinner, Steve would teach Klaus some art techniques and practice painting and drawing with him. 

As the months went on, Klaus was flourishing. He was smiling more often than he wasn’t, and he seemed to calm down. Steve couldn’t help noticing that his affection for Klaus was growing. Something he was trying his best to ignore. 

At first, Klaus protested the power training right after fight training. Oftentimes he would sit on the mats in the gym refusing to move. But through cajoling from Steve and threats from Ben and Natasha, they managed to get him on his feet in no time.

Or in some cases, floating. 

It was one of those days when Steve asked, “Can you fly or just levitate?”

“I can’t fly,” Klaus said, standing on thin air and smoking a cigarette.

“Put that out,” Steve said and Klaus rolled his eyes.

“Come up here and make me.” 

Steve sighed. “Please put that out?” 

“Ugh _fine_,” Klaus said. He pulled his leg up and stubbed the cigarette out on the sole of his shoe. 

“Thank you.” 

Klaus shrugged and pocketed the butt. “Satisfied? Can I come down now?”

“Sure. We need to move on to your next exercise anyway,” Steve said.

Ben was standing next to him as Klaus landed, and he said, “We should work on to your telekinesis. Have you been practicing that?” 

“No, not at all,” Klaus said sarcastically, and Steve had to keep from smiling.

He went and grabbed a bucket full of baseballs and said, “I’m going to throw these at you as hard as I can. You need to stop them and hold them in place.”

“Can’t I throw them back?” Klaus whined.

“No, hold them in place. It’s not just a test of your dexterity, but also your control. If you can keep them all in the air, that means you’re making progress,” Steve explained. 

Klaus nodded and held up his hands, Hello and Goodbye standing out under the fluorescent lights. There was a faint blue glow around his fingers, and Steve picked up the first baseball. He threw it, and it stopped four feet away from Klaus. Steve then picked up two more balls and threw them, one after the other. Again, they stopped four feet away.

Ben was flickering a bit, which Steve knew meant that Klaus was redirecting his power. However, Ben was still solid enough that he too picked up a baseball and threw it at his brother. Klaus cursed, as that ball did get closer to him. He managed to hold it as well.

“This is so stupid,” Klaus said through gritted teeth.

“If you can still talk we’re not doing this right,” Ben teased and lobbed another ball at him.

“If I stop talking that means I’m about to die,” Klaus shot back.

Steve kept throwing balls, but he saw that Klaus was beginning to buckle under the strain. Ben flickered several times then vanished. Steve could see Klaus was sweating something fierce. There was still about half a bucket left, but he said, “Okay, enough.”

All the balls dropped to the ground, and Klaus was breathing hard. Steve gathered them up and said, “Good, you’re doing well.” 

“I need to lie down for like… A thousand years,” Klaus said, flopping onto the mats. 

“We’re not done yet. You can take a break but then we’re moving on to telepathy,” Steve said.

“Oh my _God_,” Klaus groaned. “You actually want me to read your mind?” 

“If you can read someone’s thoughts when you’re fighting them you can more easily predict their moves.” 

Klaus raised his head to look at Steve, bewildered. “You want me to fight you?”

“No, but it might come in handy the next time you spar with Natasha,” Steve advised and he sighed.

“Okay, you totally have a point,” Klaus admitted. Steve put the baseballs away, then sat across from Klaus. By this time he’d pulled himself upright, and rested his elbows on his knees. “Are you sure about this? I mean, I am going to be poking around in your brain.”

“I’m sure,” Steve said. “I’m going to close my eyes and focus on a picture. Tell me what you see.” 

Klaus closed his eyes, and Steve could see blue energy around Klaus’s head. “It’s a brownstone.” 

“Good. Now?” 

“Flying car.” 

“And?”

“A dude with a microphone and a mustache. Howard Stark.” 

“Good. Next.” 

“...You kissed Auntie Nat?” 

Steve laughed. “She kissed me, and it was so we wouldn’t be caught by Hydra agents.” 

“You liked her though, almost as much as you liked Peggy Carter.”

That made Steve balk, and he tried to think about something else. However, thinking about Bucky made him think about kissing Bucky. And the last time that they were together. Then his traitorous brain thought, ‘God, Klaus is beautiful.’

Klaus’s eyes opened and he said, “You think I’m beautiful?” 

“Sorry,” Steve said sheepishly, and Klaus shrugged.

“It’s not bad, I’m just surprised is all.” 

“Why? You are beautiful. Really.” 

Klaus rubbed the back of his neck and said, “So that’s probably enough of that. What’s next?” 

Steve was glad for the change of subject. “Channeling. Ben says you can adapt powers from ghosts that you channel.”

“Kind of,” Klaus said, getting to his feet, and Steve followed suit. “More like whoever takes over my body can use it to the best of their ability. Not necessarily the best of my ability. Like if the person in question has faster reflexes than I do, that translates to my own body.” 

“Have you tried using this for a combat situation?” Steve asked and Klaus shook his head. 

“Most of the ghosts I talk to aren’t exactly warriors if you know what I mean.” 

“I get it. Why don’t you try channeling your brother? Is he still around?” 

“Yeah, he is. I’d like to try someone else though if that’s okay,” said Klaus.

Steve nodded. “Yes, go ahead.” 

Klaus sighed, closing his eyes and rolling his neck and shoulders. Steve watched the blue energy swirl around his hands and head, and suddenly, his eyes opened. But they weren’t the soft green of Klaus’s eyes. They were the sharp, ice blue of Bucky’s.

“Steve?” He said. It was Bucky’s voice!

Steve took a step back, and said, “What are you doing?” 

“The kid wanted to see if he could channel someone else. I was here, so we figured, why not? Besides, we talked about it,” Bucky said, stepping closer.

“I just… I don’t know what to say,” Steve said, and Bucky chuckled. 

“I do have that effect on people,” he teased and Steve laughed. 

“I miss you, Buck,” Steve whispered. 

“I know you do,” Bucky replied. He took Steve’s hands, squeezing them both in his own. He then leaned close and kissed Steve. 

“Woah, hey,” Steve said, stepping back. “None of that.”

“Why not?” Bucky asked and Steve frowned. 

“It’s not your body, Bucky. Klaus can’t exactly consent right now,” he said.

Bucky shrugged. “Hey, the kid’s into it. It’s fine. I miss you, I know you’ve missed me.” And Bucky kissed him again. Steve kissed back, fingers lacing into his hair. He knew he was in a different body, but he still kissed like Bucky. Bucky pulled away, and said in Steve’s ear, “Let’s go somewhere quiet.” 

He froze, unsure of what to do. His heart was racing, and he didn’t know if he wanted to kiss or throttle him. And suddenly, he was angry. “Tell Klaus to come back right now.” 

“Steve, take it easy--” Bucky said, but Steve shook his head and stepped away from him. 

“Now!” 

Bucky sighed, and the energy dissipated. Klaus’s eyes were green again, and he asked, “What? What’s wrong?” 

“How could you do that?!” Steve said, doing his best to keep his voice level.

“You said I had to work on it. I’ve never channeled Bucky before. Besides I thought you’d want to talk to him,” Klaus said. His eyes were wide. Was he afraid? That incensed Steve; Klaus was playing the victim! Couldn’t he see why what he’d done was wrong?!

“If I wanted to talk to him, I’d ask!” Steve yelled. “Don’t you ever do that again! I can’t believe you!” 

Klaus stared at him, and his expression changed. It went from sad and vulnerable, to strangely smug. There was something brittle about it, and Steve realized what it was. A mask. He’d seen Tony do the same. And now Klaus was; he was shutting Steve out. Seeing that, it made Steve’s stomach turn. 

“Sir, yes, sir!” He saluted and said, “Guess that means we’re done for the day, right? I’ll show myself out.” And he left the room.

Steve sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Shit,” he murmured. He’d said he’d help Klaus, instead, he’d driven him away. Again. “I’m an idiot.” 

He left the gym. He needed to think.


	4. Redemption Beyond Right and Wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, this isn't long because it's late and I want to go to sleep. I've updated this and also We Are Cancelling the Apocalypse because I'm procrastinating on another project. Fun. We're halfway through which means Halloween is on the way. Woohoo! Anyway, have a good one.

“Penny for your thoughts.” Steve looked up, and there was Ben standing in front of him. He looked down at Steve and said, “I’m sorry. It was a stupid idea.”

“Was it yours?”

Ben shook his head. “I tried to talk him out of it.”

“He needs to think things through,” Steve said. “I wish he understood that.”

“I talked to him. I’m trying to make him understand but it’s difficult.” Ben sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, sitting down next to Steve on the couch.

“How is he?” Steve asked.

“Wounded,” Ben muttered. “He doesn’t handle rejection well. Especially not since we came here.”

“To the compound?”

“To your world.”

Ben fell silent, and Steve wasn’t sure what to say if anything. And then something occurred to him, and he asked, “What was it like? Growing up here after being in the other world?”

“For the others it was great,” Ben said. “Allison could talk again. Luther had his old body back. Five actually got to grow up normally, Diego got the family he needed, and Vanya was finally included. She was even the center of attention, something she’d never been.”

“What about Klaus?” Steve asked and Ben shook his head.

“Everyone was so worried about Vanya we didn’t focus on him. After everything he went through... At the very least he should have gotten counseling but he wouldn’t do it,” Ben said, scowling.

“What do you mean?”

Ben’s fingers flexed, like he wanted to ball his hands into fists. “He didn’t think he was worth the trouble. He still doesn’t. He sees himself only as a junkie loser who craves attention but isn’t worthy of it. I liked him better when he didn’t have his stupid martyr complex.”

“You sound angry at him,” Steve said.

“He had a second chance and he threw it away. All because he thinks our brothers and sisters abandoned us,” said Ben, and Steve raised an eyebrow at that.

“I think you need to tell me what happened,” Steve said.

He knitted his fingers together, biting his lip and refusing to look at Steve. He flickered, like a candle flame going out, and Steve knew Klaus’s power was low. It must have taken incredible effort for Ben to manifest regardless. Ben’s eyes closed and he said, “Okay, but only because you need to understand Klaus. You’re good for him, the way Dave was good for him. I want you guys to have a chance.”

Ben flickered again but then became more solid. And he started talking.

“We’d been training, we knew our powers and we knew ourselves. We were ready to go back and stop the end of the world. Put an end to the Commission, all of it. We’d gathered together by a fountain in a park and joined hands. Five said, ‘Hang on’, and Klaus did his best. Then something happened that we didn’t expect.

“People around us started disappearing, turning into ash. We were scared, but Five told us to focus. Then there was some kind of shock wave, we’re not sure from where. Klaus was thrown back. He went down hard, and when he got up, the others were gone. We were alone. And then... People saw what Five had done, they thought he caused it. They thought he killed them.”

“Were you attacked?”

“Klaus was, he barely got away. We hid out at one of Klaus’s spider holes, then we found out about the Decimation. It got pretty rough from there.”

“What did you do?” Asked Steve.

“I told him, we should go back to Clint and Laura’s. Which we did. But they were gone, too. We couldn’t get in contact with Natasha, and there wasn’t anything we could do to help.”

“You knew she was here, didn’t you?” Steve asked, gesturing around them.

“I don’t know if you know this, but the Avengers aren’t exactly listed in the yellow pages,” Ben said. “Besides, we’d spent the last five years avoiding the Avengers. And SHIELD, anyone who might try to divert us from our mission.”

“Good point,” Steve muttered.

“So we figured we’d wait. We went back to the park every day for months to wait. Every day he’d say, ‘maybe tomorrow’. Then one day he gave up.” Ben said.

He could understand that. With what Klaus had told him about growing up both times. And how he never felt like a part of the family… His siblings disappearing on him couldn’t have helped things. How sad, that they’d gotten a second chance at being a family, and Klaus still felt left out. No wonder he was so clingy.

“I don’t know that I’m the right person for him,” Steve said to Ben.

He rolled his eyes. “You’re only saying that because you’re intimidated.”

Steve blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Klaus has a lot of baggage, even more than you. You’re worried you’re going to fuck him up worse. You can’t possibly, no one can hurt him worse than he’s hurting himself. And the longer you lurk in here brooding the longer he’s going to have to mentally tear himself down. Go talk to him.”

“What do I say?”

Ben got to his feet and said, “Search me. Go talk to him. Let him know this idea he and your boyfriend cooked up was stupid but you’re not mad.”

“Wait a minute,” Steve exclaimed, getting to his feet. “My boyfriend?”

“Yeah,” said Ben. “I guess he didn’t get a chance to tell you what with you running off and all. This was Bucky’s idea.”

Steve was dumbfounded. Ben, flickering again, disappeared from sight. Gone before Steve could ask him anything further.

It was a lot to take in. But Ben was right, Steve could dwell on it later. Now he had to go talk to Klaus. He left his room, making his way to the other side of the compound. He found Klaus in his suite, playing sad music and curled up on the couch, smoking a cigarette. His eyes were red and puffy from crying, and he was staring at the ceiling and mouthing the words to the song.

“Klaus?” Steve said, and he sat up

“Why are you here?” He asked, blinking slowly.

“I want to talk to you,” he replied.

“Here to throw me out?” Klaus groaned.

“What? No, of course not,” said Steve. “Klaus, I want you to know, no matter what happens, you’ll always have a home here. You can stay as long as you like.”

He rubbed at his face and sighed, saying, “You’re just saying that out of guilt. Or fear. I mean I know you’ve got super strength and all but Natasha’s scarier than you.”

Steve chuckled. “That’s true.”

Klaus finished his cigarette and put it out. “Really, why are you here?”

“To apologize. I know you were trying to do something nice for me. You caught me off guard, and I said some very unkind things. I didn’t think, which isn’t an excuse. But I want you to know, I’m very sorry,” Steve said.

Klaus stared at him, green eyes deep, impenetrable pools that Steve couldn’t read. It did strike him all of a sudden, that he did want to know what Klaus was thinking. What could possibly be going on in that odd and creative brain? Not because he could see Bucky. There was something about him that drew Steve in. Something familiar but unknown.

“I’m sorry too,” Klaus said. “I should have warned you, given you some idea of what I was doing. That was probably… A shock.”

“To say the least, “ said Steve, chuckling. “Look, let’s try again, okay? Give it a fresh start?”

He shrugged. “I’ll try if you will.”

Steve nodded and got up, saying, “Come with me.”

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise, come on. Leave your shoes.”

Klaus raised an eyebrow, but he followed after Steve. They went outside, and Steve took him down to the dock. He sat down and gestured for Klaus to sit beside him. Steve rolled up his pant legs and let his feet slip into the water. Klaus sat next to him and did the same.

“So this is the surprise?” Klaus asked.

“I know you like the water,” Steve said.

“Bit anticlimactic but it’s a good surprise,” he said.

“Sit here, relax, and let yourself drift for a while,” said Steve.

“You don’t want me to do anything?”

“Exactly,” Steve told him. “Don’t do anything, don’t worry about anything, don’t try to earn your place here because you already have it. Relax and just… Be.”

“I want a cigarette,” Klaus groaned but didn’t move to light one. He leaned back. Propped up on his elbows, staring out at the water. Steve smiled and copied him.

And they stayed there, keeping each other company, letting themselves drift.

* * *

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Steve asked, and Klaus smiled.

“Why wouldn’t I? He’s into it, I’m into it, let’s do it,” he replied.

Klaus sat cross-legged on the bed, only wearing leggings. A smile played along his lips, and he closed his eyes, letting his shoulders slump. He extended his arms, head falling back, a blue glow emanating from his hands. There was a humming coming from somewhere, but where Steve didn’t know.

Then Klaus tilted his head forward and opened his eyes. He wasn’t Klaus anymore.

There was a stiffness to his back and arms. And of course, his eyes had changed, just like last time. He got up from the bed and said, “Don’t look so scared, it’s only me.”

“This is still… Weird for me,” Steve said.

“Weird for me, too,” Bucky replied. “I mean, Jesus Steve, does this kid eat? Look how skinny he is.” He pinched his arm for emphasis.

“Yeah, he eats,” said Steve. He then choked, “I miss you.” He was crying already. That didn’t bode well for the rest of this conversation.

Bucky pulled him close saying, “Hey, it’s okay. I miss you too.”

“Are you okay? You’re not in pain, are you? Is there anything I can--” Bucky cut him off with a kiss.

Steve melted against him, arms going around Bucky. Mentally, he reminded himself it was Klaus’s body, and he needed to keep that in mind. He broke the kiss and said, “Wait, we shouldn’t--”

“He’s okay with it, remember? I asked first,” Bucky replied, quirking an eyebrow.

Steve frowned and asked, “How much did you two talk about?”

“A lot. He likes to talk. Surprisingly good listener, too,” said Bucky. He writhed against Steve, adding, “Don’t worry, Steve. He wants this too.”

“That’s what’s bothering me,” Steve admitted, but he didn’t pull away. “I think… I think Klaus has feelings for me.”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “No duh.”

Steve paused. “You know?”

“I told you, we talked. He’s got a crush on you that’s obvious from space,” Bucky told him.

“I feel like I’d be taking advantage--” Steve said, but Bucky placed a finger against his lips.

“He’s not some fragile porcelain doll who’s gonna break if you touch him,” Bucky said. “And I know you like him too. You should ask him out.”

“You’re not jealous?” Steve asked incredulously.

“Why would I be?” Bucky replied.

“I thought…” he trailed off, unsure of how to put it into words.

Bucky laughed. “Steve, I’m dead. It’s not fair, especially when we were finally getting our happily ever after. But that’s the way it is. You need to move on.”

“And what’s this then?” Steve pulled away, gesturing to Bucky in Klaus’s body. “A parting gift?”

“Klaus wants to make you happy, he thinks that this is the best way to do that.”

“And what do you get out of it?”

He smiled, mouth curling at the ends like Bucky would do when he was still flesh and blood. “I get to talk to you again. And you know, I like Klaus. He’s a good kid and he needs someone stable. You’re pretty close to stable so why not?”

“Oh, well, when you put it that way, how can I resist?” Steve said, sarcasm clear in his tone.

Bucky scoffed. “Look, think about it okay? Besides he’s your type. Brown hair, pretty eyes, more talent than sense.”

“You just described yourself,” Steve said with a laugh.

“Yeah, I know,” he grinned. He pulled Steve in for another kiss and stepped back. “It’s sweet, this pining thing. But you can stop now. Live your life.”

“I am,” Steve said. “I don’t want to forget you, Buck.”

“I’m not asking you to forget me, I’m asking you to live. What’s the point of you surviving if you’re not going to live?” Bucky asked, and Steve looked away. He couldn’t answer him. Finally, Bucky reached over and squeezed his shoulder. “You don’t have to run off straight away and marry this guy, okay? I just don’t want you mourning for me. I never did.”

There was a sound, a sigh escaping from him. Then the hand moved and a softer voice said, “Everything okay?”

Steve turned and saw Klaus was standing close to him. His eyes green again and watching Steve with some hesitation.

“Yeah, fine,” Steve replied. He was crying and he wiped quickly at his face.

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” said Klaus. “I’m really sorry.”

“No, I asked you to,” said Steve and he pulled Klaus into a hug. “Thank you so much.”

Klaus patted his back and said, “God your muscles are huge.”

Steve laughed and pulled away. He wiped at his face again and added, “I appreciate what you’ve done, thank you.”

“I’m still wearing pants,” Klaus said, looking down at himself. “I figured I’d wake up naked and sore in some fun places.”

“Would you have let me?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I was kind of counting on it. I mean you don’t want me. And yeah it's not fun being second fiddle but it's better than not playing in the band,” he said. So casually it almost seemed natural. Steve could see the tension in his shoulders.

“I’m sorry. That’s something I need to work up to, make myself comfortable with. And I don’t want to use you.”

“I don’t mind,” Klaus muttered.

“But I do,” Steve said. He cupped Klaus’s face with both hands. “I want to be with you, Klaus. Not because you can channel Bucky, but because you’re who you are.”

Klaus snorted and rolled his eyes. “Sure. And who am I? Besides a junkie whore.”

“Don’t talk about yourself like that,” Steve admonished.

“Then who am I?” Klaus asked again.

Steve smiled. “You’re an artistic, sensitive person who doesn’t like to see others in pain. You do drugs because you’re hurting. You’re self-centered, but you love everyone. You’re stupid, but not as stupid as you think. And despite all evidence to the contrary, you’re always trying to do the right thing. You did this to make me happy even though you already knew it was going to hurt you. I don’t want you to do anything like that again, because I want you to be happy, too.”

“Are you asking me out?” Klaus asked, and Steve smiled.

“Yes,” Steve replied.

“Then I’m in,” Klaus said and smiled.

Steve smiled back, wrapped his arms around Klaus and kissed him.

* * *

It was a beautiful Saturday morning. It was a crisp, cool day, and the sun was shining. It was the perfect day for what Steve had planned. It wasn’t easy, getting Klaus up and dressed. Klaus had complained, loudly, about being up “so early” on a weekend. “It’s not natural, Steve,” he groaned, and Steve had laughed.

“Come one, get up or we’re going to be late,” he said.

Klaus lifted his head and gave him a puzzled look. “How are you so awake this early? You’re evil, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Steve replied. “I’ve actually been working for Hydra all along and my ultimate evil plan is to get you out of bed before noon.”

“I knew it,” Klaus replied and his head dropped back onto his pillow.

Steve rolled his eyes and grabbed Klaus’s arm, saying, “Come on, get up and get in the shower. I promise I’ll make this worth your while.”

“There better be a blow job involved,” Klaus growled and Steve shrugged.

“I was thinking more like breakfast.”

“Ugh, _fine_. But I want a chocolate croissant,” he said, and got up and headed for the bathroom.

An hour later and they were riding Steve’s motorcycle, headed into the city. Klaus had been apprehensive at first. Understandably so, as Steve remembered what he’d said about the ghosts. But he’d gone along with it, curious about what Steve’s plan could be. They stopped for breakfast, but only to pick it up. Steve carefully packed it in the backpack he’d brought with him, and wouldn’t let Klaus pry.

Steve stashed the motorcycle at a garage, and they took the subway to the next stop, Klaus whining the entire way. He really wasn’t a morning person. When they arrived at Tramway Plaza, Klaus raised an eyebrow. “Okay I gotta know, what are we doing?”

“Not telling,” Steve said and led him upstairs.

The tram wasn’t the most graceful thing, but it gave them wonderful views of Manhattan. As they sat down, Klaus next to the window, he said, “This is weird. Where are we going?”

“How long did you live in New York?” Steve asked, and Klaus shrugged.

“I don’t know. Ben, how long did we live here?” Klaus asked.

Steve looked behind them to see Ben sitting there, and he shrugged. “Three years.”

“What he said,” Klaus said.

He was a little disappointed to see Ben. But he also knew that sometimes Klaus couldn’t control when Ben appeared or disappeared. So he asked, “And neither of you ever rode the tram to Roosevelt Island?”

“He almost never left the apartment,” Ben replied.

“Yeah I’d get stuff delivered including the drugs,” Klaus said with a nod.

Steve shrugged. “Well, there are some beautiful views.”

Klaus shifted so his back was to Steve, and stared out the window in silence. Ben meanwhile shot Steve a sheepish look, and got up and wandered to another part of the tram. Steve watched Klaus’s reflection in the glass. His eyes were wide, mouth open, and for a moment, he almost looked like a little kid. He sighed and said, “I wish I had coffee.”

“Be patient,” Steve told him.

The tram came to a stop, and they disembarked. Klaus was looking around a lot, his eyes drawn to the water. Steve held his hand out, and Klaus took it. “Come on,” he said. They walked the short distance to Southpoint Park, and once there, Steve sat down in the grass. He took the backpack off as Klaus flopped next to him, sitting cross-legged and reaching for his cigarettes.

“You shouldn’t smoke those,” Steve said and Klaus rolled his eyes.

“I can’t drink and I can’t do drugs, just let me have this okay?” He replied.

“Don’t you want to live to be my age?” Steve teased.

Klaus snorted. “Yeah, I don’t have to worry about that.”

He wanted to press, as that sounded odd. But then Ben appeared again and asked, “How’d you know about this place?”

“I like to come here to watch the water, sketch the buildings,” Steve explained.

“Peaceful,” Klaus mumbled, eyes on the water again.

Steve wasn’t sure why, but the water had a calming effect on Klaus, which was the point of their excursion. He wanted their first date to be in an environment that would make Klaus comfortable, and relaxed. It helped that Steve was more comfortable in New York, so he was relaxed too. The only fly in the ointment, so to speak, was Ben’s presence. Klaus smoked his cigarette as he watched his brother’s ghost take in the park sights.

He opened the bag and took out their picnic. Klaus raised an eyebrow, but he put out the cigarette and put it back in the pack. As promised, Steve had gotten a chocolate croissant for Klaus. He’d picked a bacon and egg sandwich for himself.

He also took out a thermos of coffee. He nudged Klaus, who took the croissant and stuffed it in his mouth before laying back on the grass. He’d put on a pair of sunglasses and pillowed his head on his arm. Steve smiled and took out his sketchbook, and started drawing.

The park was deserted, it was too early in the day. It was also cold out, which would keep people indoors. Klaus didn’t seem to care about the cold. He ate two croissants and drank about half the coffee, and then said, “I never had this.”

“Had what?” Steve asked, still sketching.

“Normalcy. It feels weird,” Klaus said.

“Kinda hard to be normal if you can summon the dead,” Steve agreed.

“I wish I couldn’t.” Klaus’s head turned, watching Ben as he stood by the fence, gazing at the Manhattan skyline.

“Is it hard?” Steve asked, and Klaus turned his head to look at him. “Living with Ben this way.”

“Yes and no.” He sat up, leaning on his elbows. “It’s hard in that it’s a constant reminder that my brother is dead. It’s hard when he’s being a mother hen and won’t leave me alone. But… It’s also comforting. That out of all my siblings, I still have Ben.” He flopped back on the ground again and muttered, “At least I have him.”

“Have you…” Steve wasn’t sure how to broach the subject, but when Klaus turned his head again he continued. “Have you tried conjuring the others?”

“No,” Klaus said.

“Why not?”

He rubbed at his face, sitting up fully and crossing his legs. “Because it’s a question, isn’t it? It’s one I don’t want the answer to. If I try to conjure them and they don’t appear, that means they did make it back home and they left me here. If I try to conjure them and they appear, that means they’re dead. Either answer is going to kill me. So I don’t want to know.”

Steve sighed. “I’m sorry, this hasn’t been a fun date so far.”

“Best date I’ve ever had,” Klaus said, a little smile on his face.

“That’s depressing,” he said, and Klaus snorted.

“Yeah. What’s the best date you’ve ever been on?”

Steve thought about it, then said, “When Bucky took me to Coney Island and I threw up on the Cyclone.”

Klaus stared at him for a moment, then he busted up laughing. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, it was my first date with him,” he replied. “So of course it was the best.”

“Didn’t know you were into Roman showers,” Klaus said, chuckling, and Steve raised an eyebrow.

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t ask,” Ben said, sitting down next to Klaus.

Steve sighed, and he said, “Ben, don’t take this the wrong way. But…. Could you maybe go away?”

Ben nodded. “That’s why I’m here. I wanted to tell you guys I’m gonna go leave for a while.”

“What do you mean leave?” Klaus asked, turning to look at Ben. Steve put the sketch pad aside.

“I can’t manifest outside of Klaus’s sphere of influence. And for a while, it was a good thing because I’d keep him in line. I don’t think he needs that anymore. If anything, I need him,” Ben said. “I’m getting underfoot.”

“You’re leaving me?” Klaus said, and Steve saw he was on the verge of tears.

“I’m not leaving you,” Ben promised. “I’ll always come when you call. But I’m going to start keeping my distance. I’d like to give you a chance at something normal.”

Klaus got to his feet and threw his arms around Ben, who was solid for the first time in a long time. Ben hugged Klaus back, patting his shoulder and saying something to him that Steve couldn’t hear. He then pulled away and walked off. After a few minutes, he flickered and then disappeared.

“I changed my mind. This is the worst date ever,” Klaus muttered. “My brother just broke up with me.”

“He’s trying to help,” said Steve. Klaus sat down again, this time in Steve’s lap. He wrapped his arms around Klaus’s skinny frame. “I’m sorry Klaus. I wanted you to have a nice day.”

“It’s okay. I get why he’s doing it,” Klaus muttered. “Doesn’t mean I’m not mad about it.”

“Anything I can do to cheer you up?”

Klaus tilted his head backward and said, “Kiss me?”

Steve smiled, cupping his face with his hand. He kissed Klaus, soft and chaste. It was with great hesitancy, but then he felt Klaus’s fingers in his hair, and he deepened the kiss. Klaus sighed when they pulled apart and Steve said, “I think today’s a bust. Wanna go home?”

“Maybe later,” Klaus said. He adjusted himself in Steve’s lap and looked out at the water again. “I kind of like it here.”

They finished off the coffee and breakfast. They watched the ships on the river go back and forth, and eventually, people started to come into the park. They were quiet, enjoying each other’s company. Steve had his arms around Klaus, sometimes shifting to stay comfortable.

“This is nice,” Klaus muttered.

“The view?”

“The quiet.”

“I still think this could have been a better date.”

“Next time let me pick,” said Klaus. He shifted around and added, “I need a bathroom and a Coke.”

“We should probably get going,” Steve agreed. They stood and cleared up, packing everything in. As they headed back to the tram, Steve asked, “Do you want to come back to my place?”

He blinked. “What?”

“My apartment. Do you wanna come back with me?”

Klaus grinned. “Steven Grant Rogers, are you inviting me to go home with you? But we’re not even engaged! What will society say?!”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Come on, it’s not far.”

He was still grinning as they headed back to the tram. Steve couldn’t suppress a smile.


	5. I Unlit the Light to Embrace the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the chapter with the sex in it. I'm doing about four or five billion things right now so I'll be brief. After this, we've got two more chapters and this fic's done. Everything's kind of crazy so I'm sorry I haven't been more chatty.

“You like it?” Steve asked, and Klaus smiled, kicking off his shoes. Steve had said no shoes on in the house, which Klaus was not opposed to.

“You have the weirdest taste in apartments,” Klaus replied, but then added, “Yeah, I like it. It’s very you.”

“I don’t think it’s weird,” Steve muttered, feigning hurt.

But Klaus raised an eyebrow, and said, “It’s not like, generally weird, just weird to me.”

“So what you’re saying is that it’s normal.”

“Pretty much.”

Steve laughed and led Klaus inside. They’d decided to leave the compound for the time being. Steve felt bad for having an apartment he wasn’t even using, and Klaus needed to get for a while. So they'd gone back to the compound for their things and returned to New York. Klaus's first few hours in the city had been hard, but Steve had stayed with him, and now they were at Steve’s home.

They’d gone up the steps, and Steve had let him in. He knew it wasn’t what Klaus was used to, but Steve was very proud of it. Despite what Klaus said, It wasn’t a weird apartment. Steve was renting the top floor of a brownstone from an elderly lady who owned the building. The furniture might have been a little dated, but it wasn’t like he’d decorated it. Steve had picked the place because it came fully furnished.

Klaus went right to the windows, sitting on the windowsill and looking down at the street. “It’s nice here.”

“Yeah, it’s quiet and most of the people in the neighborhood don’t bother me,” Steve said. Klaus looked up at Steve, then past him. His eyes focused on something else. Steve looked over his shoulder and asked, “What do you see?”

“Just Bucky,” he replied. “He says he likes it. Also that you’ve got the taste of a crotchety old man.”

“Thanks, Buck,” Steve said with a snort.

He smiled and said, “Do you mind?”

“Do I--” Steve started but Klaus shook his head.

“Not you, I’m talking to Bucky,” Klaus replied. He then looked past Steve and said, “Do you mind giving us a little private time? It’s kind of weird having you here.” Klaus paused, and Steve wished he could hear what Bucky was saying. Klaus waved his ‘Goodbye’ hand and said, “We’ll see you later, promise. Say goodbye, Steve.”

“Goodbye Steve,” he said. He knew if he could see Bucky, he would be rolling his eyes.

Klaus giggled and got up, striding over to Steve, his lithe hips drawing his eye. Klaus put his hands over Steve’s heart and asked, “What do you want to do for dinner?”

“Honestly?” Steve asked, then threw his arm around Klaus, making him squeal. “I’m not really hungry for food.”

Klaus smirked and rubbed against Steve, and he asked, “What are you hungry for?”

He reached down and squeezed Klaus’s ass, loving the feel of it through his leather pants. “What do you think?”

Instead of replying, Klaus kissed Steve, a soft sigh coming from him. Steve cupped his face with his free hand and kissed him back, tongue invading Klaus’s mouth. He guided him to the couch, lying Klaus down on it. He settled between his legs, staring down into those beautiful green eyes. Klaus was panting, licking his lips.

“You’re beautiful,” Steve told him.

“I know,” he replied with a grin, and Steve kissed him again.

They kissed passionately, with an edge of tenderness that made Steve’s heart ache. He wanted to stay like this, holding each other, kissing and caressing. Treating Klaus like the precious gem he is, and not the trash that Klaus thinks of himself as. To that effect, Steve pulled away and slid lower.

“Hey, get back up here,” Klaus groaned, pouting at Steve.

“You sure about that?” Steve asked, pushing the hem of Klaus’s shirt up. He nipped at his stomach, and Klaus giggled.

“I could be convinced to let you stay down there.”

“Oh? How could I convince you? By doing something like this?” Steve asked, rubbing Klaus through his leather pants. “Or something like this?” And he opened his trousers.

“My, but you are a convincing debater,” Klaus said with a smile. Steve grinned back and stroked his hardening member. Klaus groaned, his head falling back against the couch, legs spreading wider.

Steve ran his thumb along the head, and asked, “What do you want me to do?”

“Don’t stop,” he gasped. “The rest is up to you.”

“Up to me, huh?” Steve pretended to think about that, his touches becoming lighter, making Klaus growl. “What if I decided to… Stop?” And he pulled his hand away.

“Don’t be an asshole,” he whined.

“You’ve gotta tell me what you want, Klaus,” Steve replied, shrugging.

“Fine! Fuck’s sake,” he sighed, pulling himself up onto his elbows to look at Steve. “I can’t help but notice, you have beautiful lips.”

“Why thank you,” said Steve.

“With lips like that, you must be good at sucking dick,” Klaus said with a mischievous grin.

“Sound theory,” he said.

“One I’d like to test. So if you’d be so kind as to suck me off?” He was grinning again, and Steve couldn’t help laughing.

“I’d be delighted, Klaus. Lie back and relax, baby doll, and enjoy.”

Klaus did just that, flopping back on the couch and going boneless. Steve ran his hands up to Klaus’s hips, jerking him down so that he could get Klaus completely flat on his back. Steve took him in hand, stroking him soft and slow. Klaus gave a shuddering sigh, quiet and sweet. Steve loved the sound and wanted to commit it to memory.

He licked his lips and pressed them against the head of Klaus’s cock. Steve felt him jolt but pressed his hips down so he wouldn’t struggle. Steve sucked him the same way he’d been stroking him. Soft, gentle, and maddening. He looked up to see Klaus staring down at him, cheeks flushed and eyes glassy.

“Please,” he moaned.

Steve pulled off, stroking his dick with his hand again. “What do you want?”

“Wanna touch you,” he groaned.

“Think you can walk?” Steve asked, and Klaus rolled his eyes.

“Ugh, _why?!_”

“Because I want to be in bed if we’re going further. If you can’t walk I can carry you.”

Klaus pretended to think, and then said, “You’ll have to carry me. I’m too weak and flustered to make it there on my own.”

Steve chuckled and got up. He wished he could take a picture of what he saw. Klaus, eyeliner smudged, shirt riding up, trousers pulled down, hard and leaking for him. A truly debauched sight, one that Steve knew he would try to reproduce later. He scooped Klaus up into his arms and carried him into the bedroom.

He placed him on the bed, and Klaus got to his knees, pulling Steve’s shirt off before kissing him again. Steve cupped his face and kissed him back, tongue delving into his mouth. Klaus’s quick, clever fingers were undoing Steve’s belt. His hand slipping beneath the band of his underwear. When Klaus grabbed him, that made Steve gasp.

“Wow,” Klaus said against Steve’s lips. “Fuck you’re huge.”

“Yeah?” Steve asked with a grin.

“I wanna grease you up, tie you down, and ride you like I’m at the Kentucky Derby,” he groaned, but then pulled away. “Not today though. Maybe for my birthday.”

Now Steve was the one on edge. He wanted that, so badly he could taste it. But Klaus had said not yet. Steve could live with that. He was breathing hard, and he asked, “What do you want?”

At this, Klaus gave him a look that was full of mischief. “I loved it when you were sucking me off earlier.”

“I loved it too,” Steve said.

“And I would _love_ to suck you…” Klaus trailed off and grinned.

Steve, who was not as innocent in the ways of the world as people thought, was grinning too. “I can guess where this is going.”

“Then get your fucking pants off,” Klaus said. He pulled his own shirt off and threw it across the room, then flopped onto his back. He raised his hips to start pulling off his leather pants, which he struggled with as they were skin tight.

Steve stripped out of his remaining garments and crawled onto the bed. When they were both naked, Steve pinned Klaus down, making him squeak with surprise. Steve chuckled and said, “I’m glad that you came.”

“Excuse you, I haven’t come yet,” Klaus pouted and Steve laughed.

“I mean that you came here with me,” he clarified. “I know being in the city isn’t easy for you. And if you want to leave at any time, tell me and we’ll head back to the compound.”

“That’s sweet and all?” Klaus said. “But I _really_ want to suck your dick so could you save this for later?”

Steve laughed and nodded. “Sorry.”

“You’re forgiven.”

He rolled onto his side, and Klaus got up, lying on his right side and placing himself at eye level with Steve’s cock. “It’s a good thing we’re around the same height or this would be awkward as fuck.”

“It’s still gonna be awkward, I’ve never done this before,” Steve pointed out.

“Just do your best. I promise if you’re terrible? I’ll imagine Ryan Reynolds or something,” Klaus told him and Steve laughed again.

“Are you saying Ryan Reynolds is more attractive than me?”

“He’s definitely funnier than you.”

“That’s fair.”

Klaus reached out and touched Steve’s hip, saying, “It’s simple.” He took Steve’s dick in his hand, stroking slowly and making Steve shudder. “Anything I’m doing to you, do it to me. You can come in my mouth by the way I’m good with that.”

“Same,” Steve said, copying Klaus’s movements and making him sigh.

“Oh, but don’t fuck my mouth, I will throw up on you,” Klaus added.

“Charming.”

“Just warning you.” Then those gorgeous lips were around Steve’s dick, and it took everything he had not to jump. Steve thought he was good, but Klaus was better, and it felt amazing. For a moment, he froze, enjoying the sensation. But then Klaus pulled back and said, “Hey! This isn’t a spectator sport!”

“Sorry,” Steve replied. Klaus rolled his eyes, trying to hide a smile before his mouth descended again. Steve followed suit, and Klaus’s moan was music to his ears.

They lay like that for some time, only soft, wet noises interrupting the silence. Steve was nearly overwhelmed. Each swipe of Klaus’s tongue, each increase in suction, every head bob, he attempted to mimic. The sounds it would draw from Klaus were muted, but what little reached his ears made him harder.

It was when Klaus’s hands went exploring that Steve lost his rhythm. Delicate and slim fingers tracing down his leg and up his thigh. He was fondling his balls in the most delicious way. Two could play at that game, and Steve was the kind of person who liked to fight dirty. He pulled his mouth away from Klaus’s cock with a whine of protest. Steve sucked on his own fingers, getting them as wet as he could, and then he went back to it.

He slipped his hand behind Klaus, fingers teasing his asshole. Steve growled when Klaus jumped, he could hear him breathing hard through his nose. And though Steve was teasing him, Klaus never once pulled away. If anything, he sucked harder and faster. Steve wanted to thrust forward, but Klaus had said no fucking his mouth, and so he held still.

When he thrust one inside, Klaus cried out, the sound muffled by Steve’s cock. He was writhing against Steve, and in turn, he sucked harder on Klaus’s dick. Klaus was groaning, the sound vibrating and driving Steve wild. He pushed another finger in, and Klaus was squirming so much he thought that he might try to pull away.

Instead, Klaus used his free hand to grab the base of Steve’s cock, working the shaft in tandem with his mouth. Steve was breathing hard, and he wanted to come. But he was holding himself back, wanting Klaus to cross that threshold first. He probed his fingers deeper and was rewarded by another strangled cry. Klaus stiffened and came hard into Steve’s mouth.

Steve followed moments later and shivered when he felt Klaus’s mouth milking him for every drop.

They broke apart, Steve flopping onto his back. Klaus got up and turned around, then collapsed against Steve’s chest, panting.

“I thought you said you hadn’t done that before,” Klaus said, breathless, and Steve chuckled.

“I hadn’t,” he said.

“Well, you’re really fucking good at it. Fuck my whole body feels like jello I came so hard,” Klaus said.

Steve ruffled his curls and said, “Glad you enjoyed yourself.”

“Mmm.” He curled up against Steve, and he wrapped his arms around Klaus. “We should do that again.”

“Later. I need a shower first. And some pizza.”

“Sexy,” Klaus mumbled. Steve could feel his body relaxing, and it wasn’t long before Steve heard a gentle snore. Klaus was asleep.

He closed his eyes, knowing sleep would avoid him. But lying in the stillness of a quiet afternoon, his boyfriend in his arms… It was peaceful. The kind of peaceful that Steve hadn’t enjoyed in ages.

* * *

Their next date was all Klaus’s idea. If anyone said otherwise Steve would have blushed from his neck to his hairline. It was a weird idea, but it was very much a Klaus idea. And Steve had to admit, he was intrigued. They’d been staying at Steve’s apartment for weeks. At one point they did return to the compound so that Klaus could visit with Natasha. She had given him a look, but Steve hadn’t commented.

They worked out a routine. They were still training every day, but Steve was still running his support group. Klaus in the meantime was working on his art. One day when Steve had come home, Klaus showed him a canvas that took Steve’s breath away.

It was mixed media and depicted a scene of people and ghosts walking in Times Square.

“That’s gorgeous,” Steve said.

“You like it?” He asked, uncertainty in his voice.

“Of course. It’s very… Strange, but still visceral. You should be proud of yourself,” said Steve.

“Thank you,” he said. He then handed Steve a brochure and said, “I thought we could get out tonight.”

Steve raised an eyebrow when he saw it, then frowned. “No.”

“It’s more tasteful than it sounds,” Klaus said and Steve snorted.

“I doubt it.”

Klaus pouted, and said, “Please? You won’t have to get naked if you don’t want to.”

“Are you going to get naked?” Steve asked and Klaus shrugged.

“I promise I’ll keep my underwear on.”

Steve relented, and that was how they found themselves in a studio in SoHo that night. They were both dressed and learning about body painting from the class instructor. Klaus was smiling as the instructor told them not to get the paint anywhere but outside the body. She was a severe-looking woman with a strong jaw who called herself Echo.

“Where else would we put it?” Steve asked, unable to keep the horror out of his voice.

“People are kinky,” Klaus replied with a shrug.

“Please let me continue,” Echo said. “I’m serious, do not use this internally. And if I see anyone getting too friendly I will eject you from this class.”

“Define too friendly,” another man said.

“No sexual contact whatsoever,” she said. “I understand this can be an erotic experience, and of course we don’t like to stifle that eroticism. However, anyone engaging in sexual contact will be ejected.”

“You mean we can’t even kiss?” The woman next to him groaned.

“No, not even kissing,” she told them. “Now, I’d like every couple to decide who will be the canvas.”

Klaus was smirking, and he asked Steve, “Shall I take off my shirt now or later?”

Steve raised an eyebrow, then said, “Maybe I should.”

“Oh?” Klaus asked.

“You need to practice your brushwork anyway,” Steve said and Klaus snorted.

“You’re jealous,” said Klaus and Steve chuckled.

“Okay, you caught me.”

Echo had approached them by that point, and she asked, “Who’s it going to be?”

“I will,” Steve said.

Echo gestured. “Take off your shirt, please.”

Steve raised an eyebrow but did as she asked. There was a strange noise, like a popping sound, though Steve wasn’t sure what it was. Echo grabbed him by the shoulders, looked at his front, then turned him around. She nodded and said, “Should be okay. Not much hair.”

“Why does that matter?” Steve asked.

“Do you want paint stuck in your hair for three weeks?” She asked. Echo then turned to Klaus and asked, “What are you thinking?”

“I had thought stars and stripes,” he said with a wicked grin, and Steve’s jaw dropped. “But instead I’m thinking galaxies.”

“I recommend using the airbrush then. And you can detail the stars after that’s dried. Avoid his arms though still too much hair there,” she said to Klaus.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Klaus said.

“Are you going to be painting him after?” Echo asked, and Steve thought about it. He then nodded.

“I think I’d like to, yes.”

Echo snapped her fingers. “C’mon, you too. Shirt off.” Klaus stripped his vest and shirt off, letting them hit the ground. He was wearing the dog tags, but she said, “You’ll wanna take those off too, honey. Otherwise, they’re gonna get wrecked.”

Klaus wrapped a hand around them, clutching them close to his heart. Steve took pity on him and said, “It’s okay, you don’t have to.”

“No, it’s okay,” he said and took them off. He seemed to be looking for a place to put them down when suddenly they heard a voice that made Steve’s heart stop.

“I’ll hold those for you.”

Steve and Klaus both looked to their left, and there was Bucky.

“Who’s this?” Echo asked.

“Our boyfriend,” Klaus blurted, and she raised an eyebrow.

“You do have to pay per person.”

“Oh I’m not painting,” Bucky said. “I’m here to watch.”

Echo raised an eyebrow but then shrugged. “Suit yourselves. Have you decided what you’re going to paint?”

“Actually I changed my mind,” Steve said. “I’ll be the canvas.”

“Okay then,” and she walked away.

Klaus was clutching the dog tags again, and he said, “I… I’m sorry, I didn’t know what to say.”

“It’s okay,” Bucky replied.

“Did you do this on purpose?” Steve asked and Klaus shook his head.

“I must still be putting out that field thing that Ben was talking about,” he replied.

“I thought you were working on that.”

Klaus offered a sheepish smile. “I got distracted.” And he looked at Steve’s chest. It surprised a laugh out of Steve, and Bucky was chuckling too.

“You want me to go?” Bucky asked.

“No!” Steve said, then, “It’s becoming a tradition at this point to have a third person along on our dates.”

“Speaking of, who’s idea was this?” Bucky asked. Klaus rolled his eyes and raised his hand. “Of course. Well, don’t let me stop you, go on.”

“Yeah because I can always paint with an audience,” Klaus muttered.

Echo was back at the front of the room, and she said, “Everyone you can begin to apply your base coat.”

Klaus frowned and went to select paints. Steve looked at Bucky and muttered, “Is there any way this won’t be weird?”

“Nope,” Bucky said. “So long as I don’t try to touch anyone it should be fine.”

“Besides a three-person date isn’t that odd,” Klaus said as he came back. “I’ve done that once or twice.”

“When?” Bucky and Steve asked.

“Oh that’s gonna get old fast,” Klaus muttered. “It’s called polyamory. I don’t know if they had it in the 40s but it’s definitely a thing today.”

“And you’re… Into that?” Steve asked.

Klaus shrugged and loaded a light blue paint into the airbrush. “I’m not opposed to it but I don’t actively seek it out if that’s what you mean.” He then picked up a dark blue paint pot and dipped a brush into it. “This is gonna tickle.”

“Don’t worry, I can take it,” Steve said.

“He’s not ticklish,” Bucky added.

Klaus shrugged and carefully applied the paint. He bit his lip, concentrating on applying it even and thick. Steve shivered and Klaus muttered, “Stay still.”

Bucky circled around and stood behind Klaus. He said, “Looking good so far.”

“Turn around,” Klaus said and Steve did as he asked. Klaus just as carefully applied the paint to his back. Once he was satisfied, he said, “Looks good.”

“Blue was always his color,” Bucky chimed in and Klaus laughed.

“It’s because of those big baby blues of his,” said Klaus.

“And yet I can’t help but notice that green doesn’t look good on you at all,” Bucky said.

“I know,” Klaus groaned. “It doesn’t look right on me. Except for olive green, that’s the only exception.”

“I don’t know, green seems to suit you,” Steve said.

“I look better in black,” Klaus insisted. He then picked up the airbrush and applied it lightly, in bursts.

“Seem to know what you’re doing,” Bucky said.

“Thanks. I used to graffiti the outside of the Academy when I was a kid. I’ve got more practice with spray paint but an airbrush is pretty similar,” he said.

Steve frowned “Why would you do that?”

“Because I hated my Dad and I liked to huff paint,” Klaus said simply, and Steve exchanged a look with Bucky.

Bucky, in turn, raised an eyebrow, but then he asked Klaus, “Wannabe rebel huh?”

“More like a cry for attention. Dad wasn’t super fond of me,” said Klaus. By this time he’d moved behind Steve. “Luther was always the best. Super strength, super speed, that’s why he was Number One. He was Dad’s favorite. I’m kind of surprised I’m Number Four actually I was way lower on Dad’s hit list.”

“Number Four?” Steve asked and Klaus nodded.

“Yeah, that’s my real name. Diego put it best, Dad couldn’t be bothered to give us real names so we all had numbers. Luther’s Number One, Diego’s Number Two and boy did THAT give him a complex. Diego’s thing is throwing knives and being able to hold his breath for a super long time. Doesn’t look like much compared to Luther even though I like him more. Diego actually has a sense of humor,” he said.

“And that’s important to you,” Bucky concluded and Klaus stood on tiptoe to smile at him over Steve’s shoulder.

“Sure is.”

“Then why’re you with this punk?” He asked, gesturing to Steve.

Steve in turn laughed and said, “Shut up, Buck.”

“Don’t listen to him Steve, you’re very funny. In an unintentional way.”

Steve snorted. “Thanks, Klaus. I feel so much better.”

Klaus had circled back around. And he was struggling as he’d somehow managed to get the hose for the airbrush wrapped around his ankle. Bucky asked, “What about your other siblings? I’ve met Ben, what number was he?”

“Six,” Klaus replied. “Allison was Number Three. She’s the one I told you about, the movie star.”

“Five’s the kid, right?”

“Yep.”

“So Seven is…” Bucky trailed off.

“Vanya. She’s the one we brought here to save,” he said. Klaus finally got the hose undone, and he grabbed a palette, two paintbrushes, and some white paint. Once he’d squirted out some of the white paint, he used a pointed round to paint delicate stars on Steve. As he worked, he went silent, which was unusual for Klaus.

“You okay?” Steve asked and Klaus nodded.

“Yeah, just trying to concentrate,” he said.

“We should have done this,” Bucky said, and Steve looked at him.

“I’d have been painting you,” he pointed out.

“Hey, I could paint! I could do a nice big “Kilroy Was Here” on your pecs,” he replied and Steve laughed.

Klaus frowned, saying, “Hey, I’m trying to create here! No laughing.”

“Sorry,” Steve said, though he mostly didn’t mean it. Klaus seemed to realize that and he rolled his eyes, but there was a fond smile there.

“Did we ever find out who was doing that?” Steve asked, and Bucky shook his head.

“I think it was a lot of people. One person saw it and then a bunch of other GIs decided to copy it. Then suddenly Kilroy was everywhere and if I ever find out who it was I’ll haunt them forever,” Bucky said.

“So this was, what, the world’s first meme?” Klaus asked. Both Bucky and Steve gave him a confused look, and he sighed with exasperation. “Never mind.”

“You’re assuming whoever started it is alive though,” Steve pointed out. “They’re probably long gone.”

“Hey, weirder things have happened. Like aliens invading New York. And kids from other realities crash landing in Budapest.” Bucky gave Klaus a teasing look, who stuck his tongue out at him and moved to Steve’s back.

Steve had to hold in his laughter. But he noticed that Bucky was flickering, and he frowned. Bucky noticed too and he said, “I should get going. Don’t want to disappear in a room full of people.”

“I don’t think the other people are going to notice,” Steve said, nodding to one of the other couples. Echo was in the process of ejecting two ladies who were both topless. There was another couple who were kissing with careless abandon.

“I guess not,” Bucky said. He tilted his head so he could see Klaus and said, “See you around, kid.”

“Laters,” he replied, wiggling his fingers at Bucky to say goodbye.

And with that, Bucky vanished.

Klaus was standing in front of Steve again, and he had a fan brush now. He dipped it in the white paint, and then flicked it at Steve, creating a speckled effect. He circled around Steve several times, and when he was finished, he took a few steps back. He tilted his head, closing his eye as though trying to see something. Finally, he said, “I like it.”

Steve was looking down at himself, and while he did like the use of colors, it was hard to get a grasp of the overall picture. “Is there a mirror around here?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, c’mon,” Klaus said. He dropped the brush, took Steve’s hand, and led him out of the studio.

“Shouldn’t you put your shirt on?”

“Later. Come on.”

He pulled Steve into the bathroom and then turned him towards the mirror.

It was a galaxy, lovingly rendered on Steve’s skin. There were swirls and stars. And while there were a few crooked lines from when Steve had laughed at Bucky, the effect was beautiful.

“It’s gorgeous,” Steve said, and Klaus smiled.

“You like it?”

“I love it.”

Klaus took out his phone, saying, “I want to get a picture. Stand over there?”

Steve did, standing under where the lights were brightest. Klaus took several photos of the front and the back. Steve said, “I’d kiss you, but I don’t feel like being strong-armed out of here just yet.”

“You realize you’re going home without your shirt on right?” Klaus asked.

Steve chuckled. “If that’s what you want.”

“Oh, I want, I want that a lot,” Klaus said.

Steve gently touched Klaus’s face, and he said, “If that’s what you want then I guess you’ll have to get it.”

“What a horrible fate,” he said. “Me, getting what I want.” There was a trace of bitterness there, but Steve brushed it aside.

“How about we go home and you help me get this paint off?”

“I think I could be persuaded.” He lightly tugged on Steve’s belt but didn’t try to remove it. “Isn’t it almost your bedtime though?”

Steve blinked. “What?”

Klaus rolled his eyes. “Group? Tomorrow?”

“Right,” he said, nodding. “Group. Also, I thought I might go see Natasha. You wanna come?”

“Ugh, no thank you,” Klaus groaned. “Tell her I said hi.”

“I will.”

They left the bathroom together, holding hands. Even though it had started off awkward, and got much weirder when Bucky showed up, Steve felt this date was a success. Maybe they really had something here.

* * *

So much had happened, Steve wasn’t sure where to start. He’d been gone for a few days, telling Klaus that something had happened and he needed to look into it. What he didn’t tell him was what or why. And it had been a lot. Scott reappearing, telling them about the Quantum Realm. Suggesting time travel… It had to work, it had to.

Tony went home to Pepper and his daughter. Natasha and Clint were having dinner, where the others were, he didn’t know. Everyone was taking a little time before gathering and working in earnest to bring everyone back. Steve wasn’t sure how he was going to explain this to Klaus. They would need his help, as the only one amongst them who had ever time traveled before.

He let himself into the apartment and heard talking. Steve walked in and followed the sound into the kitchen, where he found Klaus standing over the stove. He said, “I don’t know, it doesn’t look like the picture.”

“What doesn’t?” Steve asked, and Klaus jumped.

“Hey!” He said, grinning. He threw his arms around Steve’s neck and jumped up to wrap his legs around his waist.

Steve laughed and kissed him, saying, “Miss me?”

“No, I didn’t miss you at ALL. I’m so disappointed you’re back,” Klaus said, rolling his eyes, and he kissed Steve back.

Steve set Klaus down and asked, “Whatcha making?”

“Vichyssoise or I’m trying to,” he replied. “It looks kind of… Not good.”

Steve looked in the pot, and indeed whatever Klaus was making did look gross. It was like a gray glob of God only knew what. “Maybe we should order in.”

“Yeah. Sorry,” Klaus said and Steve smiled at him.

“It’s okay, I think it’s great you’re making an effort,” he said.

“So how was your mission?” Klaus asked.

“That’s something I need to talk to you about. But let’s have dinner first,” Steve said and Klaus nodded.

“Okay. Pizza?”

“Pizza, definitely.”

They ordered and made small talk until it was dropped off. They sat in the living room, picking at their slices as each waited for the other to talk. Finally, Steve couldn’t take the tension anymore.

“We may have a plan, to fix everything,” Steve said.

“What do you mean?” Klaus asked, leaning forward to look at Steve.

“Scott Lang, one of the people we thought died, he came back,” said Steve. At Klaus’ blank look, Steve knew he’d have to explain more in-depth. So Steve told Klaus all about it. The Quantum Realm, the development, the experiments. “And… We found Barton.”

“Is he okay?” Asked Klaus, scooting closer to Steve.

“He’s wounded, emotionally, but he’s all for the plan,” Steve said.

“Which is?”

“Go back in time, get the Infinity Stones, use them to bring everyone back.”

Klaus stared at Steve, as though he didn’t quite know what he’d said. He then said, “That’s… That’s good. Great, that’s really great.” He was smiling, but there was sadness in his eyes.

“Klaus--” Steve started, but Klaus interrupted.

“You should tell Bucky,” he said.

“I don’t--”

Klaus, however, had closed his eyes, the blue energy swirling around his hands. Then his eyes opened and Bucky said, “Steve?”

“Hey,” Steve said, kissing him.

“What’s going on?”

“We might have a way to bring you back,” he said.

“What?” Bucky exclaimed, getting to his feet. “How? I thought--”

“It’s a long story. I was trying to tell Klaus but then he channeled you,” Steve said.

Bucky sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Yeah. Sounds about right.”

“He seems upset,” he said.

“I’d ask but I can’t talk to him while I’m… Here,” he said. “I don’t think he wants to come back right now, either.”

“Damn it.”

Bucky reached out and squeezed his shoulder, saying, “It’s okay, we’ll figure it out.”

Steve smiled and pulled Bucky in for a kiss. He smiled in return, and then climbed into Steve’s lap, arms around his neck. “When are you doing it?”

“Soon. We’re still talking logistics,” Steve said.

“I’m not sure I trust you to time travel,” Bucky replied. “You might punch someone and then come back to a future ruled by giant ants or something.”

“Tony says time travel doesn’t work that way. And how could me punching someone result in giant ants?”

“It’s you, Steve, weird shit happens around you,” he said, and Steve laughed.

“Like my dead fiance in the body of my living boyfriend?” He asked and Bucky nodded.

“Exactly like that.” Bucky kissed him again, grinding his hips down.

Steve groaned, wanting to protest. Klaus had been upset, shouldn’t they talk to him? But mostly, Steve was worried. That this wouldn’t work. That he’d given Bucky false hope. And there was a tension in Bucky, a tightness around his eyes that told him the same thing. He could admit he needed comfort, and he knew Bucky needed the same.

So he kissed him, hands going under his shirt. Bucky sighed and asked, “Wanna take me to bed, Stevie?”

“Certainly, Buck,” Steve replied.

They stood from the couch, and then Steve scooped Bucky up into his arms, carrying him into the bedroom. He gently placed him on the bed, kissing Bucky as he crawled on top of him. They made out for a bit, exploring each other with their hands as their lips met. It was almost innocent until Bucky slipped Steve’s shirt off.

He slid down Klaus’s--Bucky’s--body, opening his trousers. Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t wearing underwear. He was still soft, but Steve could fix that. He leaned forward and took him in his mouth. He worked the cock with his mouth until Steve felt it stiffen. Then he pulled his mouth away to stroke him with his hand. He moved up again and kissed him again.

Bucky broke away, taking a deep breath and fixing Steve with a lust-filled gaze. He leaned up and bit one of Steve’s nipples, making him groan. Steve, in turn, finished undressing Bucky, kissing every bit of exposed skin as he did so. Bucky whined and said, “Don’t be a tease.”

“I’m not teasing you,” Steve said, but there was a smugness in his voice.

“Liar. Come on,” he groaned, reaching up and undoing the fly on Steve’s pants. They panted and sighed, touching and caressing each other until they were both naked and hard. Bucky ran a finger up the underside of Steve’s erection, biting his lip coyly, making Steve shiver.

It was different, but still somehow the same. Bucky in Klaus’s body, but still being… Bucky. He writhed beneath Steve as he grabbed his cock again, stroking lightly, teasing. Suddenly, Bucky wrapped his legs around Steve and flipped them so that he was on top. He grinned down at Steve, a triumphant look that was odd on Klaus’s face.

“How do you want it?” Bucky asked.

“Like this is good,” Steve said, hands going to his hips.

“Want me to fuck you?”

“God, would you?” Steve groaned, and Bucky nodded.

“Yeah, hang on,” he said, opening the bedside dresser. “Where’s the little weirdo keep the lube?”

“Don’t call him that,” he said.

“Sorry.”

“Top drawer, in the back, in the teak box.”

“Thanks.” Bucky retrieved it, then slicked his fingers up. Steve spread his legs, allowing Bucky access, and Bucky, in turn, smiled down at him. “Ready?”

“Yes.”

He slipped the first finger inside, so slim and different from Bucky’s real fingers. But there was a strength there, one that Klaus didn’t have. He groaned as Bucky pushed in another. “Okay?” Bucky asked, and Steve nodded. He continued, crooking both fingers inside of him, using more lube. Steve struggled to keep still, wanting to wiggle and groan, knowing Bucky would make it last longer if he did.

“Now who’s the tease?” Steve gasped, as Bucky scissored his fingers.

“Still you,” Bucky replied, leaning over and kissing him. He kept his fingers moving. Making Steve squirm, thrills of pleasure spread through his body.

“I’m ready,” he said.

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

Bucky shoved a third finger in, making Steve cry out. “Still sure?”

Steve growled, “Yes!”

Bucky nodded and pulled his fingers out. He spread the lube over his hard cock, and crooked Steve’s legs up. Steve lifted his hips, grabbing a pillow and shoving it under himself. Bucky grasped his hips, and slowly pushed inside of Steve.

He held his breath, suddenly overwhelmed. Steve reached up and cradled Bucky’s face with his hand, his blue eyes boring into his own. Both of them were still, staring at each other as though they couldn’t believe it. Steve ran his hands up Klaus’s--Bucky’s--arms, and he said, “Please.”

“Yes,” He mumbled and thrust forward. It was a slow, torturous pace, and Steve knew Bucky was punishing him for his earlier teasing. His touch was light, and there was a small smile on his face, a knowing smile that said he knew exactly what he was doing. Steve didn’t mind, it was delicious, and made his back arch.

Bucky, in turn, was breathing hard, sweat on his brow as he kept up the sedate rhythm. Steve’s hands went up Bucky’s back, pulling him close so their lips met. Bucky moaned and pushed one of Steve’s legs up so he could thrust deeper inside of him. His heart was beating rapidly, and Steve wanted to devour him.

“Faster,” Steve begged, and Bucky nodded before picking up the pace. He snapped his hips forward, thrusts coming more rapidly. Steve moaned, bucking his hips up to meet him. Bucky moaned, and Steve echoed him, arm going around his shoulders. Steve’s cock rubbed between their bodies, and Bucky’s hand went between them until Steve pushed it away.

He was close, he didn’t need much more, and Bucky stroking him would have been too much. Steve pulled Bucky in for a kiss, feeling Bucky shudder as their tongues danced together. He was so close, so very close, and he whispered, “Come with me.”

“Trying,” Bucky hissed.

Then he was hitting that spot, that delectable spot inside him that made him see fireworks. Steve cried out and came hard, his vision whiting out. He felt more than saw Bucky lean close, and he gasped when Bucky bit his neck, muffling a cry of his own. Bucky was quivering against him, and Steve knew he’d come as well.

He opened his eyes, to see Bucky hovering over him, mouth open, perspiration dripping from his brow. Steve reached up and wiped it away, and Bucky sighed, kissing Steve’s palm.

“I love you,” Steve said. “Even if it doesn’t work, even if we fail, I want you to know I love you.”

“I love you too, Stevie, so much,” Bucky replied, and kissed him.

They cleaned up, and Steve fell asleep with his arms around Bucky.

He woke up when it was still dark out, and he woke up alone.

“Bucky? Klaus?” he said, turning the lights on.

The bed was empty, except for him. Steve had a bad feeling, and he got up, looking around the apartment. Klaus’s things were gone, and there was a note on the coffee table. Steve’s stomach dropped into his knees when he read it.

‘I wish you both eternal happiness xoxo Klaus’

Steve sighed. Now, what was he going to do?


	6. To Be Near But Not To Turn Into You My Darling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So due to work stuff, NaNoWriMo, and just, gods, life... I'm finishing posting this fic so I can go do other stuff. Last chapter coming up very shortly! Please remember none of this was beta'd and I've done the best I can on my own. I hope the people who have been reading from the beginning enjoyed the ride. Also I've taken a lot of liberties with both Umbrella Academy canon and Avengers canon to make this fic happen. Like one does.

Chapter 6 - To Be Near But Not To Turn Into You My Darling

He arrived back at the compound an hour later. He was surprised to see Klaus there, perched on a table as Tony ran a scanner over him.

“And were there any side effects?” Tony asked and Klaus nodded.

“Yeah, I was dizzy, dehydrated. I kinda felt like I’d snorted cotton balls and they’d gotten lodged in my brain,” Klaus replied.

“Hm,” Tony put the scanner aside. “I’m having a thought.”

“Okay, which is?”

“I’m thinking that time travel works differently where you’re from,” he said. “Since everything you’ve told me doesn’t line up with how it works here.”

“So basically you hauled my skinny ass in here for nothing?”

Tony shrugged. “Sorry, not sorry. But the side effects? We should keep an eye out for them.”

“Yeah whatever,” Klaus said and hopped down from the table.

“Klaus,” Steve said, and he paused. He had his back to Steve, and he didn’t turn to look at him.

“Need something, Cap?” Tony asked.

“Yeah, I need to talk to Klaus, do you mind?” Steve asked.

“He doesn’t, but I do,” Klaus replied, and he walked out without even glancing at Steve.

“Klaus, come on, I…” Steve trailed off and sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Tony was staring at him, and he said, “So… New boyfriend.”

“I don’t think we are anymore,” Steve muttered, leaning against a table. “And I’m not sure what I did. I mean, I can guess, but it doesn’t make any sense.”

“What do you mean?”

“I told him about the plan to bring everyone back, and he got upset. He even channeled Bucky to get out of talking to me.”

“He… What now?” Tony gave him a confused look, so Steve explained about Klaus’s powers. Once he was finished, Tony whistled. “So your current boyfriend has been sharing his body with your dead boyfriend. Are you sure you two aren’t characters in a CW show?”

Steve glared at Tony. “This isn’t funny.”

“I know it isn’t. If I had to guess, you probably hurt Ghost Whisperer’s feelings,” Tony said.

“I know I hurt his feelings! What I don’t know is how!”

Tony crossed his arms and said, “You told him we’re bringing everyone back, that includes Bucky. What does that mean for your relationship with Klaus?”

Steve’s jaw dropped. Of course, why didn’t he think of it? Klaus was worried he was second rate, the consolation prize. Hearing that Bucky was coming back would have wounded Klaus. “You mean he thought I was dumping him.”

“That's what I would think,” Tony replied.

“Shit.”

“Yep.” Tony turned back to his work, calling up a hologram. “I’d say go talk to him but he’s still pretty upset. Give him some time to lick his wounds.”

“We’re leaving for the mission soon,” Steve pointed out and Tony shrugged.

“I know, but now's not a good time to push. Besides Clint and Natasha are pretty steamed so you’ll need to talk them down first.”

Steve shook his head and left Tony’s workshop. He didn’t expect to see Klaus before dinner, but then Steve was tasked to track everyone down for a meeting. Which was why he tracked Klaus down to the common room, along with Thor and Rocket. Thor was asleep on the couch, and Klaus was leaning over him while Rocket talked.

“You sure he’s not dead? He looks it,” Rocket said.

Klaus shook his head. “No, he’s okay, just passed out. Best to leave him to sleep it off. Trust me, I’ve been there.”

“Please, one can of beer and you’d be on your ass,” Rocket said, and Klaus shrugged.

“Now maybe, yeah. Not back in the day.” Klaus looked up when he saw Steve, but he looked down again.

“We’re having a meeting,” Steve said. “To discuss the Stones and where and when to get them. Can you wake him up?”

“I can try,” Klaus muttered. He placed his hands on Thor’s shoulders and shook him.

Thor cried out and jumped up, pushing Klaus away. “What’s happened? Are we under attack?”

“No, no we’re good,” Klaus said, holding his hands up, the Hello and Goodbye stark against his pale skin.

Thor gave him a puzzled look and asked, “Who are you?”

“He’s some kinda witch or something,” Rocket replied.

“Do I look like Elphaba to you?” Klaus grumbled.

“Who?” Thor and Rocket asked and Steve couldn’t help smiling.

“Nevermind,” Klaus said, and walked out of the room, saying, “Auntie Nat! Your friends are _weird!_”

“Auntie Nat?” Thor repeated.

“I’ll explain later,” Steve said, and he, Thor, and Rocket followed Klaus into the conference room.

Klaus took a seat between Natasha and Clint, both of whom were glaring daggers at Steve. He did his best to ignore it, but their gaze was heavy. Clint put an arm around Klaus’s shoulders and gave him a squeeze, and Klaus leaned his head against Clint.

Tony had holograms pulled up and started talking about each of the stones in turn. What they knew of them and possible places to pick them up. Everyone gave what information they could remember or dig up on each Stone. Klaus was mostly silent until the Soul Stone was brought up. He said, “There’s a green chick telling me to tell you not to go to Vormir.”

That made everyone pause to look at him. Klaus shrugged and said, “She says it’s dangerous.”

“Green chick?” Tony asked.

Nebula got up from the couch and loomed over Klaus. “What’s her name?”

“Gamora,” Klaus replied. “She says someone has to die to get the Soul Stone.”

Everyone was quiet, and then Nebula murmured, “What else does she say?”

Klaus sighed. “She said she misses you. And… A direct quote, ‘You’ll always be my sister, Nebula. I love you very much.’”

Steve couldn’t tell if Nebula was going to cry or scream. But she nodded and said, “Gamora is right. Whichever team goes to Vormir, someone on that team will have to die.”

“No pressure,” Rocket muttered and Scott snorted.

“I’ll go,” Thor said.

“Not even. Look, I should have died, I’ll go,” Tony said.

“Don’t you dare say that, Tony,” said Rhodey, glaring at his friend.

As they argued, giving reasons they should be the ones to sacrifice themselves, Klaus was quiet.

“Enough,” Steve said. “We can’t ask someone to kill themselves for the Stone, that isn’t fair to them or to the rest of us.”

“What’s your idea then?” Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We’re splitting into teams,” said Steve. “Each team draws lots and from there we determine who’s going where.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Klaus asked.

“It’s fair,” Steve replied.

“Fuck fair!” Klaus yelled, getting to his feet. “What about any of this has been fair?! Clint lost his whole family! Tony lost his fucking protege! You lost Bucky and Sam! Thor lost _everyone_ he ever cared about before the Snap! This entire situation is not even a tiny bit fair!”

“Hey,” Natasha said, standing too and putting a hand on his shoulder. “Calm down.”

Klaus pulled away from her and said, “Fair he says! Life isn’t fair!”

“No, it isn’t,” Steve said. “That doesn’t mean this has to be unfair, too.”

Bruce spoke up for the first time, saying, “Steve’s right. We should draw straws.”

Rhodey nodded. “It’s the only way. Otherwise, we’ll be here for days. Anyone got any straws or pieces of string?”

“I’ve got a better idea,” Tony said. “FRIDAY?”

“Yes, boss?” The AI voice replied.

“I need you to do a random number generator for the teams. Only go up to about 50,” Tony said. “Whoever gets assigned the highest number is going to Vormir.”

“Right boss,” FRIDAY replied. The projections changed and showed their pictures in groups. Steve was sure the entire room was holding its breath as they watched the numbers. Finally, they stopped spinning, and Steve’s heart sank.

Rogers, Stark, Lang - 18

Banner, Rhodes, Nebula - 4

Thor, Rocket - 27

Romanoff, Barton, Hargreeves - 45

“Shit,” Steve heard himself say.

Both Clint and Natasha looked at Klaus, who was staring at the numbers too. He shrugged and said, “Guess that’s that.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Clint said. “Tony, run it again.”

“No. We got picked, we’re the ones who gotta go,” Klaus said, collapsing into his chair again. He then turned his head, listening to something the rest of them couldn’t hear. He smiled sadly and said, “Guess it was fate.” And he looked at Steve when he said it.

“You don’t have to do this,” Natasha said. “You’re only here because I asked.”

“I said I’d help,” he said. “Just let me help.”

Natasha and Clint exchanged looks over his head, and Steve knew that one or the other of them wouldn’t be coming back. They wouldn’t let Klaus kill himself. That didn’t make Steve feel any better, of course. Clint was a good friend, Natasha was like a sister to him.

“Let’s get back to work,” Natasha said. “We can be dramatic later.”

And so it went on, planning Scott's time heist. It wasn’t going to be easy, but it would get done. Once the meeting was over, Steve tried to talk to Klaus. But he was whisked away by Natasha and Clint, who were speaking with him fast and quiet.

“God damn it,” Steve muttered.

“You okay, Captain America?” Scott asked and Steve shook his head.

“No, I don’t think I am.”

“Give them a moment,” Tony said, clapping Steve on the shoulder. “We pretty much just told two master assassins they’d have to choose either their lives or their adopted kid’s. They’ll need to talk this out.”

“I don’t want what could be the last conversation I have with my boyfriend be about what’s fair,” Steve muttered.

That night, dinner was a sedated affair. Everyone knew this would be the last meal that one of them would have. Everyone was extra nice to Klaus, Natasha, and Clint. But that only seemed to bother them. Steve couldn’t blame them.

When they finished eating, Steve stayed behind to clear up. Everyone else was looking to get a good night’s sleep. He was surprised when he saw Klaus standing there. He was gripping the back of one of the chairs as though he might collapse.

“Bucky’s yelling at me,” Klaus said.

“I bet Ben’s giving you an earful too,” Steve replied, and Klaus nodded.

“Pretty much.” His eyes were welling with tears, and Steve moved around the table to hug him. Klaus held up a hand, saying, “I need to say something.”

“What is it?”

Klaus gulped and said, “I love you. I didn’t want to say because this is a crazy, fucked-up situation we’re going into. But… I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t tell you before we went.”

“Oh, Klaus,” Steve whispered.

He was crying as he stepped away from Steve. “No matter what happens, I want you to know that this year has been the best I’ve had in a long time. And if you see my brothers and sisters before I do, tell them I love them too. And that I’m sorry. For everything.”

At this, Steve shook his head and grabbed Klaus, pulling him into a tight hug. “Come back, and tell them yourself.”

Klaus looked up at him, eyes glassy with tears. Steve cupped his face with one hand, his other arm still wrapped around Klaus. He kissed him, soft and gentle, just like he knew Klaus liked it. When the kiss broke, Klaus muttered, “Fuck, could be my last night on Earth. Do I wanna get laid and party? Nope. You know what I wanna do?”

“What?” Steve asked.

“Cuddle with you. Just… Sleep, hold each other.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Steve replied. He took Klaus’s Hello hand and led them to his room. They stripped down to their t-shirts and underwear. They curled up together under the covers. Steve held Klaus, kissing him and stroking his hair until he fell asleep.

Eventually, Steve slept too. Heart heavy with the knowledge he may never hold Klaus again.

* * *

As Steve picked himself up off the ground, strapping his broken shield tighter to his arm, he could feel every bruise and cut. He was sure he had to have busted his ribs, but he didn’t care. All he could think about was Thanos, and what he would do to Earth once he had the Stones again. What he would do to the universe.

The mission hadn’t gone to plan, unsurprising, and Steve couldn’t help blaming himself for part of it. He’d been distracted, thinking about Klaus and wondering if he was still angry. When he’d walked into the elevator, he hadn’t had a plan. He’d thought for sure he was caught. But then he remembered something Klaus said. Turning the tables through words instead of fighting.

He’d hated himself for saying it, but “Hail Hydra” had gotten them Loki’s scepter, it won them the Mind Stone.

The only problem was they’d lost the Space Stone when Hulk had gone on a rampage and Loki had escaped. That was a worry for another time, Loki loose in 2012 with an Infinity Stone. He’d have to remind himself to go back and retrieve it from him.

They’d come back to find Natasha and Clint with the Soul Stone, Klaus not looking at either of them. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He’d been so ready to say goodbye to one of them, and yet here they all were. He’d been so surprised he’d thrown his arms around them and hugged them tightly. The rest of the team did the same, though Nebula held back, giving them a strange look that he wasn’t able to decipher.

Steve wasn’t sure what had happened. But both assassins were giving Klaus angry (Clint) and pitying (Natasha) looks. It had come fast after, the Stones, recreating the Gauntlet, the Hulk snapping his fingers. And then they were invaded.

Now here he was, Thor unconscious, Steve couldn’t even see Tony. He’d lost Mjolnir somewhere, and now it was just him, Thanos, his army, and what was left of his shield. Until he heard a familiar voice say, “On your left.”

The portals opened, and Steve nearly cried with relief when he saw Sam fly out. He saw armies from Wakanda and Asgard. Aliens and magicians, and allies Steve thought they’d lost forever. T’Challa was giving him a knowing look, and Steve nodded to him. When he saw Bucky, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. He wanted to rush over and pull him into a kiss. What he saw next stole his breath away.

Klaus appeared, floating above the ground, surrounded by people he recognized from pictures. His brothers and sisters. Diego, Luther, Allison, Five, and Vanya, each one falling into a fighting stance. Their eyes on Thanos and his forces. Next to Klaus was Ben, who winked at Steve. Klaus gave a small wave with his Hello hand.

Steve stood up straight, calling Mjolnir back to himself. Everyone was forming a line, and he said, “Avengers… Assemble!”

And the battle commenced.

Steve moved hard and fast. He was throwing punches, throwing the hammer, listening to chatter as someone said they needed to destroy the Stones.

“No!” Bruce yelled. “We can’t do that! We need to send them back to where they came from or it will throw the universe out of balance!”

“I have a suggestion,” a voice said, a very young voice. Steve looked over to see a kid in a school uniform blinking in and out of the battle. It was Number Five.

“Who is that?” Tony asked.

“Just listen!” He said. “I can get the Stones back if you give them to me. I need someone to cover me while I open a time vortex. We also have to protect Vanya.”

“Who’s Vanya?” Scott asked.

“My sister,” he said. “She almost destroyed the world, she can end Thanos.”

“I need to play,” a female voice said, Steve assumed it was Vanya. “I can’t have any distractions if I do I could end up destroying this world.”

“How will you even know where to return them?” Bruce asked.

“I'll know,” Five replied.

“Yeah because you know everything,” another voice said.

“Shut up Diego,” Klaus replied. “I already told him where to go.”

“Please tell me this isn’t Klaus’s plan,” Diego groaned.

“Only partly,” Five said.

“Okay that’s completely insane,” Clint said.

“But it’s a good plan,” Natasha replied.

Steve pulled himself up to get a better view. He could see Vanya off to the side, holding a violin. He also saw that Ben was next to her, the Horror loose from his ghostly form, ripping his opponents to shreds. Five meanwhile was still blinking in and out, killing at random so ruthlessly it made Steve’s blood run cold. It was hard to believe he was related to Klaus.

“Wanda, I need you and Danvers to cover Vanya, she’s the one in white near the lake. Parker, Stark, Barton, get the Stones to Five. Everyone else, keep as many of Thanos’ forces back as you can. Vanya, how long do you need?” Steve asked.

“Fifteen minutes,” she said.

“Do it,” he said and threw himself back into the battle. “Get the Stones out of the gauntlet, then run with it. Make him think we’ve still got them.”

“Right, Cap!” Barton said.

He fought his way through eight of the Chitauri and found Bucky and Klaus. Bucky was keeping the Chitauri away while Klaus sat cross-legged, floating in the air. “What are you doing?” Steve asked as Klaus’s hands glowed blue. A Chitauri came towards them, and Steve battered it away with Mjolnir.

“Getting reinforcements!” Klaus grit out.

“How?” Steve punched a Chitauri and then kicked another, Bucky shooting both when they went down.

"I might have given him an idea," Bucky said.

Klaus didn’t answer. The blue glow had encompassed his entire body. His hair was floating around his face, the glow even coming from his eyes. There was a sound like a roar of thunder. And suddenly, there were familiar figures appearing around Klaus.

Steve gaped as Peggy and the Howling Commandos appeared, battle-ready. Dum Dum smiled and said, “Well hey, Cap. How’ve you been?”

“Social niceties later,” Peggy said. “There’s a fight to finish.”

More ghosts were appearing. People that Steve knew, and people he didn’t. The ghosts immediately went to battle, confusing the Chitauri. They could hit, wound, even kill the Chitauri, but they couldn’t be hurt in return. And Klaus was calling more and more of them. Appearing around him in bursts and dispersing into the battle.

Steve recognized the Warriors Three from SHIELD files. And Heimdall from Thor’s descriptions of him. When Loki appeared, Steve’s jaw dropped.

“How…” He trailed off, and Klaus shrugged.

“I’ve been talking to Thor,” he said simply.

Loki smirked at Klaus and asked, “Have you found everyone?”

“Still working on it. Not sure how long I can hold you all,” Klaus said. Loki pulled a knife and threw it at a Chitauri, hitting it in the center of its forehead.

Parker swung by and landed, saying, “Oh wow… This is so like The Return of the King.” He had the Gauntlet, and Steve was relieved to see the Stones were no longer in it.

“Return of the what now?” Steve asked and Klaus snorted.

“I’m more Radagast than Aragorn,” he said, then turned. “Oh shit… He’s coming.”

Steve looked up to see that Thanos was headed their way.

“Concentrate,” Bucky said. “Don’t worry about him.”

“You’re kidding right?” Klaus said.

Steve could see the ghosts were wavering. He grabbed Klaus by the arm and kissed him, then said, “Don’t worry, we’ll handle him.” Klaus took a deep breath, nodded, and held his hands out. He was floating higher above the ground. The blue light becoming stronger and more intense. Steve then looked at Bucky and said, “Keep him covered.”

“You got it,” he replied.

“We’re right behind you, Cap,” said Morita.

The Howlies surrounded him, Peggy by his side. He wanted to say something to them, apologize to Peggy. She, however, was having none of it.

“What’s his strength like?” She asked.

“Inhuman,” he said.

“Weaknesses?”

“Ego the size of New York.”

“Oh, so he’s got one to match Howard’s then,” Peggy quipped and Gabe laughed.

“What do we do?” Monty asked.

“Split up,” Steve said. “I’ll take him head-on, Peggy circle around so you can get him from the back. Dum Dum, Jim, take the left, Gabe, Monty, Jacques, you’re on the right. Go. We can’t stop him but we can slow him down.”

“Got it,” Peggy said and vanished. The others ran off, and Steve planted himself, waiting for Thanos to come to him. He could see Parker swinging off with the Gauntlet, Ebony Maw flying after him. Thanos saw too and was headed for him. Until Steve stepped right up and drove Mjolnir up under his chin.

It knocked him back a step, and he glared down at Steve. “If you think your friend’s magic tricks will stop me, you’re mistaken.”

“He’s my boyfriend,” Steve corrected and drove the edge of his shield into Thanos’ neck. It bruised him but didn’t cut his head off. He, in turn, swept his arm and hit Steve so hard he knocked him back ten feet.

“Perhaps when the battle is done, I’ll save his head, just for you,” said Thanos. “Not that it will matter, as you'll both be dead.”

“Now!” Steve said, and the Commandos appeared.

Dum Dum tackled his legs, while Jim, Gabe, and Jaques threw themselves at his sides. Monty managed to grab one of his arms. Peggy launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around Thanos’ neck. Steve surged forward, aiming Mjolnir for Thanos’ gut.

They got him on the ground, each wailing on him as hard as they could. With significantly more strength than they’d had while alive. Then Steve heard through the comms.

“Guys, Vanya’s almost done. Fall back or you’re going to get caught in the shockwave,” Diego said.

“I’ve got him!” Steve said. “Just go!”

“No!” Peggy said. They had him pinned down, and she looked up at him with pleading eyes. “We can do this, Steve. We’re dead, we’ll still be dead when this is over. You don’t have to be. Take Bucky and Klaus and fall back!”

Steve looked at the others, the faces of his best friends and comrades, people he’d missed so much. They were giving him the same look Peggy was. Pleading, and Jim said, “Go, Cap. We’ve got this.”

“I miss you,” Steve said. “All of you.”

“We miss you too. But we’ll see you again,” Peggy said.

“Come on!” Bucky said. He grabbed Steve by the shoulder and pulled. “I need your help!”

It killed him to do it, but Steve turned away. Other ghosts were rushing forward. They were grabbing whichever members of Thanos’s army they could, keeping them in place. Steve could see in the distance a white light, one that was growing steadily stronger. He could see streaks of Wanda’s hex magic and Danvers’ cosmic blasts. That wasn’t what drew his eye.

Klaus was floating several feet above the ground, body laid out as though he were asleep. The light coming from him was starting to dim, and he didn’t look fully conscious. The ghosts, in turn, were becoming brighter, it was as though they were gaining Klaus’s vitality.

“Help me get him down,” Bucky said.

They grabbed on to him and pulled him along to safety. It was difficult, as he resisted. He tried throwing them back with his telekinesis. But he’d thrown all his energy into pulling the ghosts through. They managed to get to safety, Asgardian spectors holding the last line of defense. Once they were clear, Steve said, “We’re out, take them down.”

The white light transformed, shot through with red and gold from Danvers and Wanda. It split into thousands of threads, each one attaching itself to a Chitauri. They were lifted into the air. Steve watched in horror and fascination as they started turning gray. As though they were being drained.

Thanos, still being held down by ghosts, was being twisted and slashed by several threads of power. He tried to fight it off, struggling fruitlessly. Steve was too far away to read his expression, but he was sure it was disbelieving. As he continued to fight, Steve might have felt sorry for him. If he hadn’t killed half the population of the universe and was determined to kill the rest.

And then… They burst into ashes.

It wasn’t slow, or dramatic, one minute they were there, the next they were gone, being scattered by the wind. The light dissipated, but the ghosts remained. Steve was holding Klaus, who was still levitating, the blue energy coming out of him.

“Klaus, it’s okay, we won, you can stop,” Steve told him, but there was no change.

“What’s wrong with him?” Bucky asked and Steve shook his head.

“I don’t know. Klaus? Klaus! Can you hear me?”

“Steve?” Klaus said, eyes still closed.

“Yes, it’s me. Stop, we need you back.”

“I can’t find him,” he whispered. “I’ve been trying but… He’s not there.”

“Who?”

“Dave,” he said, in a voice so small Steve could have thought he was a kid again.

“Klaus,” Steve sighed, ruffling his hair. “He’s gone. You told me yourself you can’t reach him while you’re still alive.”

“Don’t follow him. He wouldn’t want you to kill yourself for him,” Bucky said.

“Please Klaus.” Steve turned to see that the other Hargreeves siblings had surrounded them now. It was Allison who’d spoken. “We didn’t come all this way just to lose you again.”

Ben knelt next to them, taking his hand. “Let go now. Come back to us.”

“I could… I could keep everyone here,” he said.

“By dying? Don’t be stupid,” Diego replied.

“Please,” Vanya said. “Don’t do this. If I can come back so can you.”

“But I’m not… Needed,” he whispered.

“What? Of course, you are,” Luther said.

“No, I’m not. It's all over, I’m useless.” It broke Steve’s heart to hear Klaus talk like this.

“You were never useless,” Steve said. “I do need you, Klaus. I love you. Your family loves you. You don’t have to prove yourself, you’ve already done that. Just… Come back, please.” And he kissed him.

He could feel it rather than see it. It was like kissing a battery that was charging. Steve felt Klaus’s arms come around him, and he was smiling into the kiss. There were a few groans and a wolf whistle from someone. When they pulled apart, Steve looked down at Klaus and smiled. He knew without looking the ghosts were gone.

“Congratulations,” Steve said. “You just helped save the world.”

“Does that mean we get ice cream?” Klaus asked, and Steve laughed and kissed him again.

“I may be ill.”

“Don’t be an asshole, Five,” Allison snapped.

* * *

They regrouped at Stark Tower. Which after all these years Tony had never managed to sell. The Snap hadn’t helped the real estate market, or so Tony said. Everyone who needed medical care got it, and the dead were identified and sent to mortuaries to be laid to rest. Steve had helped as much as he could, but he was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open.

And there was Bucky, whole, and healthy. He had some injuries from the battle, but nothing serious. Steve wanted to crawl into bed with him and sleep for a week. The two of them… Curled around Klaus. Who was currently unconscious and in the medical wing. He’d collapsed shortly after the battle, along with his sister, Vanya.

“It’s not surprising,” Bruce had said. “They did a lot of the heavy lifting during the battle.”

Steve wanted to be by his side when he woke up. However, his brothers and sister had kept Steve out. They didn’t trust them, not that Steve could blame them. Given their past history with SHIELD. After begging and pleading with Luther, the eldest and leader, Steve was allowed into Klaus’s room.

“How is he?” Steve asked, taking Klaus’s hand.

“How do you think?” Diego said, giving Steve a hard look.

He brushed Klaus’s hair back from his forehead and looked up when Bucky came into the room.

“Hey, what is this? You said--” Diego started.

“I have a right to be here,” Bucky said, cutting him off.

Klaus began to stir, and when his eyes opened, his gaze fell on Steve. He smiled softly. “Steve? Is Bucky…”

“Right here, kid,” Bucky said, waving a bit.

“Diego, get up,” Allison muttered. Diego glared at the two but did as his sister asked.

They left the room, so it was Bucky, Steve, and Klaus.

“You’re okay,” Bucky whispered.

“Yeah, just… Sorry. I kinda used up most of my batteries.”

Steve leaned over and kissed him, and Klaus kissed him right back, hand reaching up to tangle in Steve’s hair. When they pulled apart, they both looked at Bucky. He was quiet for a moment, but then he leaned over, nudging Steve aside and kissing Klaus too. Steve’s eyes widened, but he shouldn’t have been surprised.

“You’re nuts, you know that right?” Bucky asked and Klaus laughed.

“What a shocking revelation,” he muttered, sitting up in bed. “Is everyone okay?”

“Yeah, thanks to you. And Vanya,” Steve said.

“Where is she?”

“Next room,” Bucky replied. “You wanna see her?”

“Can I?”

They helped him out of the bed and walked him to the room next door. Where the rest of the Hargreeves siblings had gone. Vanya was sitting up in bed, and when she saw Klaus she smiled at him. She was such a little thing, it amazed Steve that she had the power that she did. They helped Klaus to sit down next to the bed, Vanya reaching out and grasping his hand. Steve and Bucky both stepped away, but not out of the room.

“So… You guys were snapped?” Klaus asked.

“Yeah. Noticed you didn’t conjure us,” Diego said.

“Yeah I was kind of busy,” he muttered.

“Getting messed up on pills does not count as being busy,” Luther said.

“Hey,” Allison said. “Stop, right now. I’m sure he had his reasons.”

“He couldn’t take it,” said Ben, speaking up for the first time, and the others looked at him. “He didn’t want to know if you were dead or had dumped him here. Given the choice, I can’t blame him. Can you?”

Five pursed his lips, then said, “No. Given the circumstances, we should probably cut him a break.”

“We saw what you did though,” Vanya said.

“I tried to stop you,” Ben added.

“I know you did,” Klaus muttered.

“Wait, what are they talking about?” Steve asked, and everyone turned to look at him.

“On Vormir? He… He didn’t tell you?” Diego asked, turning his head to look at Klaus again.

Klaus for his part was squirming. Both Steve and Bucky looked at him and he said, “Okay! Fine! Look Auntie Nat and Uncle Clint were fighting over who was going to jump so I did it! It’s no big deal! I already knew I wasn’t going to die! At least not permanently.”

“Whoa, hey what are you talking about?” Bucky asked. “Explain please.”

He sighed and leaned back in the chair, arms crossed over his chest. “So we get to Vormir, right? And there’s this spooky dude with a red face who’s all, ‘you must sacrifice what you love a soul for a soul’ blah blah blah.”

“The Red Skull,” said Five. He looked at Steve. “He says hello by the way.”

Steve wanted to ask but Klaus held up his Goodbye hand and said, “Don’t interrupt. You want the story I’m telling the story.”

Five sighed but gestured for Klaus to continue.

“Anyway, so they’re doing the “I’m being noble” thing and of course they’re not even asking me. I guess it was too much for them since they didn’t want to watch the stupid junkie they’d helped raise kill himself. Like I haven’t been killing myself for years,” Klaus patted down his pajamas and sighed. “No cigarettes, of course. So while they were distracted I just… Jumped. Went splat on the ground and I died.”

Steve couldn’t speak. Klaus had done that, and to keep one of his best friends and a close teammate from dying? He went to Klaus’s side and knelt by his chair. He pulled him down and hugged him, kissing him hard. Klaus squeaked in surprise, and when Steve pulled back he asked, “I don’t understand. If you died, how are you here?”

“I can’t die,” Klaus told him. “God hates me. I thought maybe in this universe that wouldn’t be the case but nope, God hates me here too. Do you know what’s weird? God’s a fucking cowboy! He looks like the worst possible version of Lee Marvin.”

“I thought you said God was a Parisian 12-year-old girl,” Allison said.

“She is in our world, here God is a cowboy. He called me a pansy and kicked me back into my body,” Klaus replied.

“Why does that keep happening to you?” Ben asked in bewilderment.

“God hates me, duh. Didn’t I just say that?” Klaus asked.

Bucky had joined Steve next to Klaus and he hugged him. He then said, “You ever do anything that stupid again I’ll smack you into next week.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” Klaus mumbled, but he sighed. “I need to sleep. For at least a week. And chocolates. And cigarettes.”

“Job’s not done yet,” said Five.

“What?” Vanya asked.

“We still have to go back to our world and stop the apocalypse,” Five pointed out.

“Goddammit, I forgot,” Klaus said. “Uh… Can I sit this one out?”

“No,” said Luther. “We need the full force of the Academy. And frankly, it might not hurt to have a few Avengers along too.”

“That’s not a good idea,” Five said. “If we bring them with us we risk tipping the scales too far.”

“Why not though? We helped them, why can’t they help us?” Allison asked.

“I can get the seven of us home again. I can’t make any guarantees for more passengers,” Five said.

“Why don’t you ask Tony? He figured out time travel. He could figure out inter-dimensional travel, too,” Steve said.

“We want to help,” Bucky said, which made Steve’s eyes widen. The entire time that they’d been in hiding, Bucky hadn’t been fighting. He’d done farm work in Wakanda. Steve also saw he was holding Klaus’s hand. It wasn’t hard to guess why he suddenly wanted to fight.

Five was thinking about it, or at least Steve hoped he was. Finally, he said. “Fine, we’ll stay a few hours, I’ll talk with Stark. If he’s as smart as everyone claims we might actually be able to pull this off.”

“And Vanya and Klaus need to get back to full strength,” Allison pointed out.

Diego got to his feet and walked out of the room. He said, “In that case, I’m gonna go find that Thor guy and see if he wants to go a few rounds.”

“Diego, he’ll kill you,” Luther said.

“He’s out of shape and drunk, I can take him,” he replied and left the room.

Allison rolled her eyes, then turned to Vanya. “I want to find Auntie Nat. You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah. I need to rest,” she replied.

“Me too,” Klaus said, then looked at Steve. “Carry me?”

“Because you need to be carried or because you’re being lazy?”

He smiled. “Does it matter?”

“Guess not,” he said. He stood and scooped Klaus up into his arms. Bucky was on his feet as well and he went to open the door. Steve carried Klaus back to his room and put him to bed, saying, “We’ll need to talk.”

“Later. Want snuggles,” Klaus muttered. Steve and Bucky looked at each other. It was a big bed, they could fit. Steve kicked his shoes off and climbed into bed, Bucky following suit. They curled around Klaus and held him close. They were all warm, and safe. And Steve hadn’t felt this content for a very long time.

They were woken up by Luther shaking Steve’s shoulder.

“Klaus, we have to go,” he said.

“Five more minutes,” Klaus groaned.

“It has to be now,” Luther said. “Five has figured out the equation. We can’t bring the Avengers with us but we can stop the apocalypse. We have to go now.”

Steve sat up, turning on the side table lamp. “I thought you were going to wait.”

“Stark is smart,” Five said from the door. “But I’m smarter. And we need to leave now.”

Klaus was sitting up too, rubbing his eyes. “Do I at least have time to get dressed?”

“Hurry,” Five said, and threw Klaus’s clothes at him.

Luther and Five left, and by this time Bucky was awake. He was frowning at Klaus and he said, “You’re leaving?”

“No choice,” Klaus replied.

He dressed quickly, not caring that Steve and Bucky were watching him. When he stood there, in his army vest, tie-dye shirt, leather pants, and sneakers, he looked… Steve didn’t know what to say. He got up and said, “I’m proud of you. For what you’ve done here and what you’re going to do.”

“Yeah,” he mumbled. His eyes were on the tips of his shoes.

“And… I love you, too,” Steve said, and Klaus’s head shot up.

“But, you don’t need me. I thought we established that.”

“Since when is love about needing someone?” Bucky asked.

He was out of the bed, and he put his hands on Klaus’s shoulders. “I love you. I love Steve. Do I need either of you? Not really. Do I want you to be safe and happy? Yes.”

“I wish I didn’t have to go,” Klaus said, and Steve could hear the desperation in his voice. “I just want to paint and pretend dead people aren’t yelling at me all the time and have sex with you two.”

“Sounds good to me,” Bucky agreed and Klaus laughed. Steve saw tears in his eyes.

He kissed Klaus, and he heard jingling, then Steve felt something cold around his neck. When he pulled away, the dog tags Klaus wore were clinking against his chest. “Klaus, I can’t.”

“I’m coming back for them,” Klaus said. “I’ll find a way.”

“Are you ready yet?” They looked towards the door, and Diego was there. “We’ve got to go.”

“I’m saying goodbye to my fucking boyfriends!” Klaus snapped and Diego raised his eyebrows.

“Boyfriends? Plural?”

“Don’t judge me.”

“I’m not, I’m impressed,” he said. “Didn’t think you had the stamina.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Diego,” he said sarcastically.

Bucky kissed Klaus too and said something low and quiet to him, that Klaus nodded at then kissed his cheek. Klaus pulled away and looked back one last time. He gave them a wave with his Goodbye hand, then walked around the corner. There was a bright flash of blue light, and they knew that he was gone.

“What’d you say to him?” Steve asked.

“I said we’d have a threesome if he came back,” Bucky said and Steve nearly choked on his saliva.

“What?!”

Bucky smirked and rolled his eyes. “I said for him to come back soon.”

“God I hope they make it,” Steve whispered.

“Hey, they took out Thanos and returned the Infinity Stones. Stopping the end of the world should be a piece of cake,” Bucky replied.

Steve closed his eyes and prayed that was the case.


	7. Forever We’re Lost in Our Souls Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter. I'm going to lie down for about a week. Seeya.

Steve was almost surprised when they came back. 

Klaus had been gone for a month, and he and Bucky had tried to settle into something that resembled a routine. It was agony waiting. Steve didn’t have the support group to distract him anymore, they’d disbanded when everyone came back. He almost wished that he still had a mission to return the Stones, but Five had done that job for them. Getting Mjolnir back to its proper time and place had been more difficult. But with Thor’s help they’d accomplished it.

When everyone was healed up, Tony had decided they needed to throw a party. Celebrate that everyone was back and things had worked out in the end. Most of the Avengers and their friends gathered at his place on the lake. The party was in full swing when Steve walked off on his own. He stared out at the water, remembering the way that it would soothe Klaus, and he sighed.

He heard footsteps behind him, and Bucky said, “You’re missing your party.”

“It’s not my party,” Steve replied.

Bucky clasped his shoulder as he stood next to Steve. “I miss him too, you know.” 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. We’d talk when you weren’t around. Shoot the shit, exchange stories. I actually told him about Peggy and the Howling Commandos. He was a weird kid, but all he really needed was love,” Bucky replied. “I knew you could give that to him.” 

“When did you fall in love with him?” Steve asked.

Bucky chuckled. “When he said he’d channel me so I could see you again. He’s not as selfish as he makes himself out to be.” 

“He’s not selfish at all,” Steve said. He pulled the dog tags out from under his shirt, examining them again for the millionth time. One tag was Dave’s, the other was Klaus’s. 

“He’ll come back,” Bucky replied.

Steve was about to reply when he heard a sound. It was a crackling of energy, not lightning, but something else. He and Bucky looked at each other and ran back towards the house. As they came over the hill, they saw that there was a blue sphere that had appeared in the center of the lawn. People were drawing away from it, some like Thor arming themselves. 

Then it dissipated, and there they were. 

Klaus, with his brother Diego and sister Vanya. They looked different than when Steve had last laid eyes on them. Diego had a scar on his face, thick but old as though he’d had it for years. Vanya had her hair loose and was wearing a white tuxedo. While Klaus, his curls had become long and unruly, he wore a leather skirt, a velvet jacket, and no shirt or shoes. 

“Oh hey we made it,” Klaus said with a smile.

“Hallelujah,” Diego said sarcastically. 

Vanya looked around and said, “Uh, sorry, were we interrupting?” 

Natasha surged forward and drew all three of them into a hug. Clint, Laura, and their kids did the same. 

“Where are the others?” Natasha asked.

“They’re not coming,” Diego said.

At her expression, Vanya clarified, “They’re fine! Everyone is fine. But Luther, Allison, and Five wanted to stay in our world.” 

“We like it better here,” Klaus said. “Better memories. Cooler people. Also, cell phones. I really missed having a cell phone.” 

“I threw yours in the river,” Clint told him and Klaus’s jaw dropped.

“You did not!” 

Others were gathering around them, and Steve and Bucky joined them. He was glad to see them again, and while he didn’t know Diego or Vanya well, he intended to. Klaus gave him a small smile and said, “Hi.” 

“Hi yourself,” Steve replied.

Bucky rolled his eyes and said, “We’re leaving.”

Steve stared at him with shock and said, “What?!”

“We’re leaving. You, me, and the kid. Come on,” he clarified and grabbed Klaus’s hand.

As he was dragged away from his siblings, he said, “I’ll call you and give you the gory details!”

“You better not!” Diego replied while Vanya laughed. 

Steve jogged after them, to some catcalls and laughter. “Where are we going?” Steve asked. 

“Somewhere private,” Bucky replied.

“Wow you’re a fountain of information,” Klaus grumbled.

“We’re staying a bit further down the river,” Steve told him. “Closer to town.”

They got in the car that they’d rented, and Steve drove in silence until they reached the cabin they were renting. Klaus was the first one out, and he asked, “Did you guys keep my clothes? I completely forgot to bring my shoes and I feel kinda stupid now.” 

“You look stupid too,” a voice said. Ben appeared next to his brother.

“Oh, you did come! I thought you were gonna stay home, try to move on,” Klaus said and Ben shrugged. 

“Figured I should keep you out of trouble,” Ben said. 

“Ben,” Steve said. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we have some things we need to talk about with Klaus.”

“I’m gone, just wanted to let you guys know I’ll be around,” he said and then disappeared.

Klaus smiled a bit and followed them into the cabin. He looked around and said, “We stopped the apocalypse. I did, actually.” 

Steve smiled. “How?”

“So you remember those telekinetic powers you were bugging the shit out of me about? I guess it’s a good thing I listened to you because I used them to keep the moon from crashing into the Earth,” he replied.

They sat down in the living room, Klaus in the center of the couch while Bucky and Steve sat on either side of him. Steve took his hand and said, “First off, I’m so happy you’re back, and that you survived.”

“Me too,” Bucky said, taking his other hand. 

“Me three,” Klaus said with a smile. “I… Thinking about coming home to you was the only thing that kept me going some days.”

“I’m glad to hear it. And we’ve talked while you were gone,” Steve said. “And we decided, if it’s all right with you, we would like to give what’s between the three of us a chance.” 

“We’re not experienced with this so there’s gonna be some bumpy roads,” Bucky cautioned.

“In the end, it will be worth it,” Steve promised. 

Klaus looked at Bucky, then Steve. “That’s all I wanted. I mean, don’t get me wrong, going home was weird and awkward. I saw Dave and said goodbye to him. He told me... “ He paused, and sighed. “He said I should move on. He’s dead, and we don’t belong together anymore. Which hurt a lot when he said it but he’s right. I knew he was right. Didn’t make it any less hard to hear though.”

“I’m sorry,” he muttered.

“Yeah, me too. I mean, it’s cool but ouch. Anyway, so we got everything where it’s supposed to be. Luther and Allison are being… Weird still. But she’s with her daughter again so she’s happy. Five is gonna visit sometimes, make sure we’re not getting into trouble,” Klaus said, chuckling. “Look, I know I’ve got a lot of experience? But we’re gonna have to work on this. Communication is key.” 

Bucky smiled and tucked some of Klaus’s hair behind his ear, kissing his cheek. “Yeah, we’re figuring that out.” 

“So, I’d like to jump both of your guys’ bones,” Klaus continued. “I think we should agree to go on a date first though. Like, a real one.” 

“Anything specific in mind?” Steve asked.

“Dinner and a movie?” Bucky suggested.

“Sounds good to me,” Klaus said.

Steve smiled, putting an arm around Klaus and kissing him. Bucky turned Klaus’s head and kissed him, too. The three of them curled up together, and they enjoyed the moment. Then Klaus smirked.

"So, sex?"

Bucky snorted. "You're the worst."

"You mean I'm the _best!_" Klaus said. "Come on, I've been gone for like, a year. I haven't gotten any the entire time and I'm going to explode if I don't." 

"Now that would be something to see," Bucky teased. 

Klaus huffed. "Fine. If you don't want to get some that's your problem." He batted his eyes at Steve. "What about you, handsome?"

Steve grinned and stood up, holding his hand out to Klaus. He took it, and Steve surprised him by pulling him up and then sweeping Klaus off his feet. Literally. He picked him up bridal style and said, "Let's get you to bed. You need to rest after averting an apocalypse." 

"This better be for naked time fun and not you putting me to bed like a child," Klaus grumbled.

"I solemnly swear it is for naked fun time," Steve told him.

He heard Bucky behind him, who said, "I'm down for that."

"You can put me down now," Klaus whispered in Steve's ear, then bit his earlobe. 

Steve chuckled and did just that, asking, "What do you want?" 

Klaus shrugged. "I kind of want one of everything y'know? Going without so long, it's the pits. But mostly I just want you two to fuck me until I can't walk right." 

"Wait, you didn't--" Steve said and Klaus shook his head.

"I told you I was coming back. I know we didn't say we would be exclusive or anything but it would have felt too much like cheating." 

"You're amazing," Steve whispered.

"And horny. I need to be banged like a screen door in a hurricane. You two think you can manage that?" 

"That can be arranged," said Bucky. He circled around Steve and went to Klaus's side, kissing him softly. Steve watched as Klaus melted against Bucky, who cradled his face with his metal hand. When their lips parted, Bucky sighed and said, "I've been waiting forever to do that." 

"Then why'd you stop?" Klaus asked, pouting.

"This is why," Steve said, turning him around and kissing Klaus. He'd missed those soft lips, the way Klaus would raggedly breathe through his nose. The kiss deepened quickly, and he could hear Bucky stripping out of his jacket. 

"Fuck," Klaus gasped against Steve's lips. 

"Splendid idea," Bucky said. 

"So I kinda wanna try something?" Klaus said, stripping out of his jacket. 

"Which would be?" Steve asked, fingers slipping into the hem of Klaus's skirt. 

Bucky had already ditched his, and he was plastered to Klaus's back, kissing his neck. His eyelids fluttered and he said, "Kinda hard to focus Bucky."

"You want me to stop?" Bucky asked him. 

"Temporary pause?" Klaus asked and Bucky smiled, pulling away. 

"So do you guys know what double penetration is?" Klaus had a wicked grin on his face. 

"We're old, not stupid," Steve told him. 

"And believe it or not we do watch porn on occasion," Bucky added.

"Oh, have you seen that one--" Klaus started.

"Focus."

"Sorry. Anyway, I want to try it with you two."

Steve looked at Bucky, who raised an eyebrow but smiled. "We can try it."

"Are you sure?" Steve asked Klaus, cupping his face with both hands. "I don't want to hurt you." 

Klaus snorted. "You're not _that_ well endowed."

"Combined forces have a tendency to overpower," Bucky replied. 

"Whatever, get your gear off and grab the lube," Klaus told them, shimmying out of his skirt. 

Steve took off his sneakers, then kissed Klaus again. They crawled on the bed, Bucky joining them. Klaus's hand went to Steve's crotch, slowly massaging him. Steve did the same, and he heard Bucky gasp. Steve was pretty sure he knew where Klaus's other hand was. He ran his fingers through his hair, then Steve pulled his shirt off. 

It took longer than it should have, for the three of them to strip down. But there was so much of them they needed to work out and explore. They'd mumble one or two things to each other, or ask a question. Until they were all naked and Bucky had grabbed the lube. 

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Bucky asked.

"Well _now_ I'm not," Klaus muttered sarcastically.

"I don't want to hurt you," Bucky said. "It's a real concern."

"He gets a little rough," Steve admitted. 

Klaus frowned and turned more towards Bucky, kissing him gently. "If it's something you don't want to do, I won't make you. But if you're only worried about hurting me? I trust you." He gave Bucky a smile full of mischief, and it made Steve's heart leap to see it. "Besides, I'm into some pretty kinky stuff." 

"What, like whips and chains?" 

"Nothing so pedestrian," Klaus said. "There's a saying in my world. Erotic is using a feather. Kinky is using the whole chicken." 

They both busted up at that, and Steve shook his head and went back to kissing Klaus's neck. Klaus jumped a bit when he felt cold metal fingers on his side, and he hissed, "Speaking of kinky." 

"You like it?" Bucky asked. 

"Oh yeah. Can you finger me with those?" 

Bucky shook his head. "Nope. Sometimes the plates pinch together and you don't want that inside you." 

"Noted," said Klaus. 

Bucky took the lube and coated his fingers, smiling as he said, "Now this? This I'm good at." 

Steve kissed his way down Klaus's chest, saying, "He is. You're going to love it." He then sucked on one of his nipples, hand going to Klaus's cock. He gasped and writhed, and Steve knew that Bucky had started fingering him open. 

"Jesus you're tight," Bucky said.

Klaus winced and said, "I told you it's been a while." 

"You're too tight. We can't do this without injuring you," Bucky said. 

Steve raised an eyebrow, then said, "Klaus, are you sure…" 

He sighed. "Okay, maybe too much for today. But we have to at some point." 

Bucky turned Klaus's head and kissed him, saying, "It's good you've learned your limits." 

"Yay, I've grown as a person. Can we have sex now?" Klaus whined.

Steve kissed him, and Bucky went back to fingering him. Klaus sighed and Steve felt his hand on his dick, and he growled. 

Klaus whispered in his ear, "You want me?"

"Very much," Steve said.

"He's ready for you," Bucky said, and leaned over and kissed Steve. 

"You okay?" Steve asked and Bucky nodded. 

He shifted Klaus onto his back, against Bucky's body. Klaus spread his legs, and Steve's hands glided over his stomach. He grabbed his hips and gave him a peck on the lips. "I love you." 

"I love you too," Klaus said. 

"And I love you both," Bucky added.

Steve pushed into him, and Klaus cried out. His back arched, and Bucky kissed him to silence him. Steve held still, not wanting to hurt him. When Klaus began to squirm, Steve thrust forward. He started slow, wanting to see what Klaus could take. 

"C'mon! You don't see me in a year and you wanna go all slow?" Klaus whined.

"It's only been a month for us," Bucky told him.

Klaus groaned. "That explains it. You good back there?"

"Stiff as an ironing board but I'll live," he replied. 

"Gimme the lube," Klaus instructed. 

Bucky handed it to him, then went back to nibbling on Klaus's neck. Steve licked a drop of sweat from his collar bone, then kissed Bucky. The entire time he had to keep himself in check. He was pretty sure he knew what Klaus was planning. And he wanted to see the look on Bucky's face when he got a taste of those clever fingers. 

He wasn't disappointed. Klaus's hand was slick with lube, and Steve grinned when Bucky moaned. 

"Fuck, you're good at that," Bucky said.

"Wait until I suck you o--ahh!" Klaus cried when Steve surged forward. 

"You're talking too much," Steve told him. "I don't think I'm doing this right." 

Klaus's head fell back against Bucky's shoulder. "How--oh!--How silly of me."

Steve pushed his leg up so he could go deeper, and he smiled when he and Bucky grabbed Klaus's cock at the same time. 

It was awkward at first, trying to maneuver three bodies in tandem. There were a few misses and the occasional giggle. When they worked it out though, they were in ecstasy. Sharing pleasure, sharing breaths. Pounding hearts and a sheen of sweat over their bodies. It felt so good, Steve almost didn't want it to end. 

Until he could feel it coming. He was getting close. And if the breathy little moans that Klaus gave were any indication, he was nearly there as well. Bucky was biting his lip, trembling against the two of them. Steve kissed them both and said, "Nearly there." 

"Me too," Klaus muttered, then looked over his shoulder. "Bucky?" 

"Yeah." 

"Last one to come is a rotten egg," Klaus said, then cried, "Oh God!" when Steve hit that spot inside him. A few more thrusts and Klaus was done, squirting between their hands. He practically convulsed around Steve, which abruptly brought him over the edge. He came so hard he was seeing white. He heard Bucky whimper and knew he'd finished, too. 

They lay together, damp and sticky and sated in a way none had felt before. Steve pulled out and stroked Klaus's hair. 

"You okay?" He asked. 

"I want a cigarette," he said and Steve snorted. 

"No smoking." 

"I quit anyway, it's fine," said Klaus. 

"Shower?" Bucky asked and Steve shook his head. 

"Let's at least get cleaned up a little," Steve said, getting up and heading to the bathroom. He dampened a couple of washcloths and went back to bed. He handed one to Bucky, knowing he'd want to clean himself. Steve, however, tended to Klaus, who was smirking at Steve. "What?" He asked.

"Are you… Taking care of me?" Klaus asked. 

"You deserve it," Steve said. 

"Oh I'm not complaining, I completely deserve it. It's just… Nice is all," he replied. 

He was nodding off, and Steve said, "We need sleep." 

"Ooo, snuggly time with the super-soldier beefcakes. I'm in," said Klaus. 

"Yeah, same," said Bucky. He took the washcloths and dumped them in the trashcan next to the bed. 

They got under the covers, a mess of elbows and flailing limbs until they all got comfortable. Steve wrapped himself around Klaus, arms finding Bucky's and smiling to himself. As he drifted off, he felt… Happy. Content. Something he hadn't experienced much in the 21st century. 

It wasn't just him, either. He wanted that for Bucky and Klaus, too. Sure, they would still have to work a few things out. Negotiating a relationship and all, as they'd discussed earlier. Steve was confident they could do it. Klaus had stopped an apocalypse, Bucky had come back from the dead, and Steve had fought Thanos and won. 

If they could do that, they could do anything.

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](http://talkingcinemalight.tumblr.com/)


End file.
